China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), international marine engineering and infrastructure construction firm, has donated US$250,000 to Jamaica’s National Premier Football League, underlining its support for local cultural organisations.

Tuesday’s award was made by Mr Tang Zhongdong, CHEC regional and country manager for the Caribbean and Latin America, during a ceremony at the Kingston offices of the Premier League Clubs’ Association (PLCA).

Association Chairman and former Jamaican Prime Minister, Mr Edward Seaga accepted the sponsorship cheque, thanking China Harbour for its support. Mr Seaga is also chairman of the Professional Football Association of Jamaica and president of one of the 12 teams in the National Premier League football competition.

The sponsorship package will be divided among the league’s dozen clubs, applied chiefly to salaries, an ongoing obstacle for the league. Mr Seaga said the financial assistance would help alleviate the problem.

“The majority of the funds should be for salaries of players, and we know that many players will breathe easier in so far as that aspect, payment of salaries, is concerned.

“It is a very significant sponsorship package; it is not every day you pick up a sponsor of this level, it could not have come at a better time,” Mr Seaga said.

Mr Tang said the gift was part of the company’s larger commitment to Jamaica: “China Harbour is committed to playing our part to ensure the growth of professional football, the well-being of the players and the prosperity of Jamaica,” he said.

CHEC has sponsored other local sports in the past, including a schoolboy football team in 2011 and, most notably, the Jamaican Olympic team in London this summer, when sprint sensations Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce led a 12-medal haul of four gold, four silver and four bronze.

“We became a sponsor because we believe in Jamaica and its enormous potential,” Mr Tang said. “The Jamaican Olympic team showed that they were very deserving of our sponsorship and that of other corporate entities.”

CHEC is the chief contractor for the five-year, US$400 million Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme. Started in 2010, the project encompasses reconstruction roads, bridges, retaining walls and drainage networks.  The company is also investing US$730 million over the next three years in the construction of a modern highway linking Jamaica’s capital city, Kingston with the country’s North Coast resort town of Ocho Rios.

Sports sponsorship, Mr Tang said, is part of CHEC’s policy of creating cultural exchanges, which are integral to the business model the company has developed in more than 70 countries. He hoped the funding would serve as a model for developing social and cultural ties throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

“Jamaica has captured the hearts of people around the world, including in China, through its music and sports,” Mr Tang said. “CHEC is pleased to be associated with Jamaica’s sporting traditions.”

“Like schoolboy football,” he added, “Premier League football is an excellent foundation for Jamaica’s football stars before they reach the World Cup stage.” He also recognised the inter-club competition as a very important social activity for building relationships among people and communities.

“As the most popular sport in Jamaica, Premier League football has the potential to positively transform the economic and social lives of many young men and the communities in which they live,” Mr Tang said. “China Harbour is honoured to be assisting Jamaica at this level to achieve the country’s next great moment of world sporting glory.”

The company’s contribution is second only to that of title sponsor Red Stripe, joining a series of other corporate supporters. China Harbour has also introduced a “China Harbour Star Baller of the Month” programme, awarding J$30,000 monthly to a PFAJ-selected player.

CHEC is currently in negotiations with the Cayman Islands Government for the construction of the George Town cruise ship port as a public-private partnership investment with 100% funding by CHEC. The George Town port when completed would be operated by the Cayman Islands Port Authority.