In the year since Hurricane Melissa struck in October 2025, the government has spent about J$84 billion on recovery and aims to close the recovery phase by January 2027. The 2026/27 budget of about J$1.4 trillion brought the first new revenue measures in eight years.
Government · leader
Head of state King Charles III (Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen); Prime Minister Andrew Holness (re-elected September 2025)
Key national agenda
- Restoring homes, schools and power after Hurricane Melissa (recovery phase to end January 2027)
- Keeping fiscal stability and raising new, mainly consumption-based revenue
- Energy transition, including procurement of 300 MW renewables and 150 MW batteries
- Higher investment in health and education
- Stronger public security (larger national security budget)
Government programmes
ROOFS roof-repair grantsJ$10 billion + additional J$9.65 billion
J$75,000-500,000 per household by damage level; 118,000 households; 90% to be served by December 2026
School repairsOver J$11 billion
144 of 308 Priority One schools fully restored
JPS grid restoration loanUS$150 million
Loan to the power utility for restoration
300 MW renewables + 150 MW battery procurement
Largest planned power tender; RFP pushed to Q4 2026
Semi-permanent housingJ$800 million
Semi-permanent homes for displaced residents
UK reconstruction expert team
UK Delivery Team specialists deployed with costs shared equally; signing planned at CHOGM
Business opportunities
Disaster grant disbursement data and automation platform
Verification and reassessment of 118,000 households must finish by January 2027.
Ministry of Labour and Social Security, ODPEM, local government
Reconstruction PMO and procurement consulting
Delivery capacity is stretched enough that the government is bringing in UK experts.
Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure
AI analytics for power loss reduction and demand management
A loss-mitigation and demand-side analytics consultancy is already out to tender.
Energy ministry, JPS, GPE
Digital classroom equipment and content linked to school repairs
More than 164 schools still under repair will need to replace equipment (estimated).
Ministry of Education
Tenders
- Loss mitigation and demand-side analytics, community energy transition and resilience framework consultancy · Not stated (energy sector body) · Deadline 2026-11-13
- External audit of ODPEM 2026 · Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) · Deadline 2026-11-16
- Network switches and servers · Not stated · Deadline 2026-11-23
- Repairs and upgrade to create an extension clinic at Pratville Health Centre · Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) · Deadline 2026-11-24
- Concessionaire services for HEART/NSTA Trust residential and non-residential sites (18 lots) · HEART/NSTA Trust · Deadline 2026-12-04
Korean support schemes
- Embassy of Korea in Jamaica cooperation · Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Embassy in Kingston) — The embassy has run a Korea-Jamaica Future Cooperation Forum with UWI focused on renewable energy.
- Export Voucher · Export Voucher programme — Covers Caribbean market research, certification and local marketing via vouchers.
- Latin America market entry support · KOTRA — With no dedicated Jamaica office, buyer matching goes through nearby Latin American offices (estimated).
Official notices
Jamaica Information Service (JIS) / Office of the Prime Minister
- 2026-10-27 PM briefing: Melissa response spending about J$84 billion, donations J$1.7 billion
- 2026-10-27 Additional J$9.65 billion allocated to ROOFS roof-repair grants
- 2026-10 Generation Procurement Entity moves its large renewables RFP to Q4
- 2026-07-03 Governor-General's Achievement Awards presented to 39 Jamaicans
Disaster · conflict · epidemic
Stable 2026-10-30
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Earth & space
Sources
- JIS - Gov't Has Spent $84 Billion on Melissa Response to Date (2026-10-28)
- Jamaica Observer - Holness pumps another $9.65b into ROOFS (2026-10-28)
- Gleaner - Government proposing to spend $1.4 trillion (2026-02-13)
- Jamaica Homes News - Biggest power tender slips to year end
- GlobalTenders - Jamaica tenders
