Port of Kingston Gears Up for Fresh Round of Major Investment

• The Port of Kingston is poised to benefit from another wave of major investment, building on more than US$500Mn (J$80Mn) spent over the past decade to modernise and expand port infrastructure.
• Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL), one of Jamaica’s two port operators, has received a US$25Mn construction quote for a multi-level car park designed specifically to facilitate the transhipment of motor vehicles from Jamaica to global markets. The proposed investment covers only the physical storage infrastructure for vehicles in transit.
• KWL Chief Executive Officer Mark Williams made the disclosure while speaking at the 21st Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference 2026, held from January 20–22. He underscored that Jamaica is rapidly emerging as a serious competitor in the global motor vehicle transshipment market.
• This comes after KWL strategically invested over US$60Mn in the last four years, in both physical and digital infrastructure. As part of the US$60Mn plan, the company completed the first phase of its warehouse complex on Ashenheim Road in Kingston as well as its Berth 7 redevelopment project, which expanded the port’s capacity by 25% to handle one million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit in container operations annually. A port handling one million TEUs annually is considered a major hub, indicating significant, high-volume trade, vessel traffic, and logistical activity. 
• That said, sustained growth will depend on accelerated development of physical infrastructure at the Port of Kingston, including expanded berthing capacity and additional backlands. To this extent, KWL has approached the government to acquire portions of Tinson Pen for its expansion, highlighting that this move is consistent with the government’s proposal to have Jamaica become a significant node in global logistics.
• For this to happen, Williams lamented that, “what’s required is substantial investment in physical infrastructure, in equipment and more importantly in technology. You have to facilitate the movement of those cars when you have the largest car ship in the world visiting Jamaica, and that car vessel has 9,402 cars; we need space to put them, it requires huge capital investment…It therefore means you need land space, you need to expand the port boundaries.”
• KWL earnings grew 18.4% to $2.57Bn in the nine months to September 2025 driven by higher revenues (19.9%), supported by KWL’s Terminal Operations and Logistics Services Divisions. The company is expected to see some tailwinds from the post Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts, though the backlog at the ports could present upside risk to costs.
• KWL’s stock price has decreased by 0.3% year-to-date, closing at $34.33 as at Tuesday, January 27, 2026. At this price, the stock is trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 15.97x, which is higher than the Main Market Energy, Industrials and Materials Sector average of 14.38x.

(Sources: Our Today, NCBCM Research)