Caribbean Journey
Why Is China Building a Secret City in Jamaica? (Is This the End of Western Influence?)
China is building its first residential mega-city in the Caribbean on 740 acres of Jamaican land in Mammee Bay, St. Ann financed, designed, and constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the same company behind Jamaica's North-South Highway. The land was transferred to CHEC as partial payment for that $730 million highway deal, and it sits on ground tied to Taíno heritage, a former slave plantation, and possibly the ancestral home of Marcus Garvey. This video breaks down exactly what's being built, who's really financing it, what it means for Jamaica's debt and sovereignty, and why every Caribbean nation Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago is watching this project unfold in real time.
Caribbean Journey delivers serious, sourced documentary coverage of Caribbean economics, geopolitics, and infrastructure built for the diaspora in the UK, US, and Canada who want real analysis, not hype. We're building toward 10,000 subscribers, and if you want the full story behind Jamaica's biggest foreign financed development in history, this is the one to watch.
What you'll learn in this video:
• Why China Harbour Engineering Company chose Mammee Bay, St. Ann for its first Caribbean residential mega-development
• How Jamaica's $730 million North South Highway deal led directly to the 740 acre land transfer at the center of this story
• What percentage of Jamaica's national debt is actually owed to China versus Western lenders like the IMF and World Bank
• Why the Mammee Bay site is linked to Taíno settlement history, a colonial-era sugar plantation, and the Garvey family
• What the "debt trap diplomacy" theory gets right and what recent independent research on Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port gets wrong
• Why this story matters directly to Jamaicans in London, Guyanese in New York, and Trinidadians in Toronto
Q&A
What is being built at Mammee Bay, Jamaica?
A 740-acre gated residential development with over 800 housing units designed to house up to 4,500 residents, built in six phases through 2030 by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
Who owns the land at Mammee Bay?
The Jamaican government transferred 1,200 acres to CHEC as partial payment for building the North-South Highway; the current residential project covers 740 acres of that land.
Is Jamaica in debt to China?
Yes, but less than most people assume Chinese Export-Import Bank debt accounts for under 4% of Jamaica's total national debt. The majority is owed to Western institutions including the IMF, World Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank.
Is this a debt trap?
Independent academic research on China's most-cited "debt trap" example, Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port, has found China restructured loan terms far more often than it seized assets complicating the popular narrative.
Why does this matter to the Caribbean diaspora?
Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and other CARICOM nations have signed similar Belt and Road agreements with China, meaning the precedent set at Mammee Bay could shape financing terms across the entire region.
Sources referenced in this video include: Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica Homes News, the Center for Global Development, the Wilson Center, East Asia Forum, Diálogo Américas, the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network, World Bank debt data, and published academic research from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School on Belt and Road Initiative debt sustainability.
Disclaimer: This video is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. All figures, dates, and claims are drawn from publicly available reporting and official sources current as of publication; land acreage and residency figures vary slightly across official sources and are presented with that range noted. Viewers are encouraged to verify current details independently, as large scale development projects are subject to change.
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Published Aug 16, 2026