Infrastructure - Haiti Observer Blog

On 27 December 2013, President Michel Martelly visited the sites of Nerette and Morne Hercule (Petion-ville). These are the two of the first rehabilitated neighborhoods reconstructed after the devastating earthquake of January 2010, under the 16/6 project.

This government project is supported by the United Nations (UNOPS, UNDP, ILO, and OIM) for rehabilitating and rebuilding 16 neighborhoods that were seriously affected by the 2010 earthquake. The project is designed in a way to facilitate 5,000 families living in six camps to find their new homes. The Haitian President was accompanied by Ms. Jolicoeur Yvanca Brutus, the Mayor of Petion-ville, representatives from UN agencies and officials from the Unit of Housing Construction and of Public Buildings (UCLBP).

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Jacmel is a small town located in the southern part of Haiti and founded in 1698. Being such a historic town, the town has a number of buildings that has a lot of historic value and significance. Jacmel was one of the regions of Haiti that suffered immensely during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Since the region holds a lot of historic importance, efforts have been taken to restore as well as build new buildings in the area.

Three significant buildings are being constructed in Jacmel at the moment - a Convention Center, the new communal market and an Administrative Complex. On May 3rd, 2013, the President, Michel Martelly, paid a visit to Jacmel to check on progress of these constructions. The construction of these buildings are estimated to be over $3 million and is being funded by the Interamerican Development Bank.

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It seems that the Haitian government has a comprehensive plan to alleviate traffic problem in the Haitian Capital of Port-au-Prince. According to information retrieved from Le Nouvelliste, a major newspaper in the country, the Department of Public Works is planning to build major infrastructure in Port-au-Prince.

In an effort to eliminate bottlenecks and traffic jam in specific points such as Carrefour and Delmas, the Department of Public Works will build motorways in these municipalities.

According to the same source, funding has already been allocated for the project with work expected to start soon.

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Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and Haitian Hometown Association Resource Group (HHTARG) are presenting a forum, "Investing in Haitian Progress", at a total of nine cities in America, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and New York City, its first stop. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding the project, offering small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses matching grants from $50,000 to $200,000 for innovative business plans. The goal is to support development of SMEs to increase employment in Haiti.

Speakers at the forum will talk about private investment in Haiti, potential stakeholders, finance, program administrators, and investment bodies like Inter-American Bank that partner with the government of Haiti to support SMEs.

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Tourism in the Caribbean has been happening since before Haiti became a republic in 1804. In the beginning, the very rich traveled to the Caribbean to experience the benefits of its health resorts, some of which offered hot springs. Tourists chose which of the islands they favored according to the official language spoken: The English preferred Jamaica; the French, French Martinque; and the Dutch, Curaçao.

As the Caribbean grew to be a tourist destination in the 60s, international airlines began offering non-stop flights. This changed the character of the tourist profile, which had been only the wealthy, but now became middle-class as well. Once the hospitality and tourism industries saw the potential for big profits in the Caribbean, they began investing in the region.

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A series of calamities that struck Haiti in the past years has taken a toll on the country's image. Haiti was included in a list of the world's worst places to live in made by consulting firm Mercer. According to the list, Haiti ranked third among the countries with the worst quality of living, just two places behind Iraq. Port-au-Prince was particularly mentioned as a city that does not offer a great quality of life to residents.

When it comes to infrastructure, the capital of Port-au-Prince was number one in the list of countries with worst infrastructure. Mercer cited various contributing factors such as availability and supply of electricity, fresh water and public transportation as the reasons why the country was ranked that way.

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The internet industry in Haiti has yet to boom as many people are still unable to afford such services. Though the market has shown a lot of potential and advantages, Internet service providers must exert more efforts and initiatives to provide Internet connection at a more affordable price.

Most antennas that transmit signal for Internet connection in Haiti are located on a hill above Port-au-Prince. These antennas and transmitter cram the area, as Internet companies are forced to build their own towers. Unlike in other countries such as the United States, Haiti could still not allow tower-sharing, wherein multiple companies share a single internet infrastructure. The said infrastructure is operated by a third-party company. This makes it easier, cheaper and more efficient for service providers to operate their business. However, Haiti's telecommunication law, which has not been updated for 35 years, makes it impossible for companies to do the same in the country.

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Haiti's economy has tumbled, especially after the devastating earthquake in 2010. A lot of infrastructure was damaged, sending Haitians deeper into poverty. However, the country continues to take initiative to improve its economy and business market. As a matter of fact, it remains a free market economy that makes use of low labor costs and tariff-free exports to the United States market.

The country is working to attract more investors so as to prop up its economy. There are top sectors and businesses in the country that provide good investment opportunities. One of these is the garment sector. Haiti showed a significant growth in its exports in the first quarter of 2009. It recorded a rise of 16.1%, much higher than China's growth of 0.3%. Currently, Haiti is considered as the fastest growing exporter of garments to the United States. It has a wide range of clients, including Levi's, Walmart, and JCPenny. Also, half of its garment manufacturers are expected to boost their work force and expand their factories in the coming year.

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Haiti President Martelly is pursuing support from CARICOM to re-build Haiti's infrastructure. And he is also seeking job opportunities in vocational careers for students unable to afford a university education.

Responding, Antiguan Prime Minister Spencer has offered scholarships for its Hospitality Training Institute (HTI) for students interested in the hospitality industry. To make an official declaration of the scholarship program, HTI and the Haiti Ministry of Tourism will put their signatures to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Spencer indicated Antigua has a policy of offering scholarships to Caribbean countries afflicted by
natural disasters.

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