Kingston is the capital of Jamaica. The population is 578.8 thousand people (as of 2008), and 941 thousand people are within the urban agglomeration of Greater Kingston. It is located in the southeast of the island of Jamaica, on the Caribbean coast, in a convenient bay. From the sea, it is protected by a narrow sandy peninsula Paliseydos. Seaport (exports mainly rum, sugar, ethanol, coffee, bananas). The total cargo turnover is about 18 million tons; there are two container terminals – northern and southern, 2.2 million TEU containers in total (2007, new berths are being constructed and other port communications are being expanded to increase container turnover to 3.2 million TEUs by the end of 2008). The port has a free economic zone (established in 1976). Norman-Manley International Airport (on the Palisades Peninsula, 1.73 million passengers in 2007). Annually in August – October, Kingston in the VGP port area is hit by hurricanes (one of the strongest – Hurricane Gilbert, 1988).
Life of the capital
Kingston is the largest economic and business center of the country. Most of the employees are engaged in services (tourism and hotel business, banking, logistics services, etc.). Kingston is one of the main tourist centers of the Caribbean (over 65% are tourists from the USA); hotel industry is represented by hotels of the world’s leading networks. Kingston is a major financial center of Jamaica; here are the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited, branches and representative offices of major foreign banks – Royal Bank of Canada, Scotia Bank, Citibank Jamaica, First Global Bank Limited (FGB), etc. Kingston has the headquarters of Jamaica Producers Group Company, the largest producer of bananas in the country, as well as the headquarters of other large companies (including the “Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica”, “Port Authority of Jamaica”).
Industrial production is of great importance, in which the petrochemical, food, and textile industries are distinguished. Kingston has the only refinery in the country (owned by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., with a capacity of 35,000 barrels/day, mainly from Venezuela and Mexico).