Jamaica has hired a Florida company to build two plants that will convert garbage into energy and help save the Government $60 million a year in fuel imports.

Energy Minister James Robert-son says the plants could generate about 18 per cent of the country's electricity and eliminate the need to import more than 700,000 barrels of fuel a year.

Robertson said in a statement issued last Friday that Miami-based Cambridge Project Development Inc will oversee the construction of the plants at the Riverton landfill in Kingston.

It is unclear when construction would start. Further details were not available, including the project's cost.