Port-au-Prince, February 6, 2013 - At the request of the Government of Haiti, the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) had provisionally put aside US$18 million for two projects that will have a direct and sustainable impact on the living conditions of Haitian citizens. These projects will help reduce the cancer mortality rate in Haiti and help stabilize 32 percent of the electricity supply in Port-au-Prince. The final approval and subsequent transfer of funds are subject to submission of final project documents.
During its ninth meeting here today, the Haiti Reconstruction Fund Steering Committee (HRF), under the chairmanship of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mrs. Marie Carmelle Jean Marie, decided to reserve US$10 million for a project to builda National Center for Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy and Nuclear Medicine in Port-au-Prince.
“This is a complementary financing, we have already received US$30 million,” explained the Minister. “The HRF allows us to finance orphan projects for which we don’t have any other source of funding.” Haiti’s cervical cancer mortality rate is 58 out of 100,000 people. This Center, the first of its kind in Haiti, will revolutionize access to chemotherapy and nuclear medicine. It will be the first health project financed by HRF.
The second project, the US$8 million rehabilitation of a 115kV transmission line between Peligre and Port-au-Prince (EDH) will ensure the reliability of the Peligre hydroelectric power plant, which, with its 54 MW, represents 32 percent of energy produced on the Port-au-Prince grid, including the cities of Mirebalais and Hinche. This transmission line is more than 45 years old.
“The Government is working on the modernization of the Port-au-Prince distribution grid on one hand and on the rehabilitation of the Peligre power plant on the other,” explained Camille Cange, electro mechanic Engineer at EDH. “The line is vital for the transport of energy from Peligre to Port-au-Prince. It is useless to repair distribution channels and the power plant if energy can’t be transported from one point to another. Without the energy of the Péligre power plant, some power plants in Port-au-Prince cannot work.”
This meeting is the first to be held following the adoption of new procedures that make the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE) the counterpart of the HRF. Project proposals are reviewed by the MPCE, and then submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval following consultation with the Prime Minister. “These new procedures ensure the leadership of the Government and financing of its priorities,” said Mr. Yves Robert Jean, Director General, MPCE. It’s also the first Steering Committee Meeting hosted by the Haitian Government.
At the next HRF Steering Committee Meeting, to be held on February 20th, three other projects will be reviewed: the operational planning and implementation of an urban planning project to serve the growing sector of Canaan Jerusalem (US$ 15 million), Public Health Care Services and training support in the Central Department through strengthening of clinical, community and pedagogical activities at the University Hospital of Mirebalais (US$ 8 million), and, a Job Creation Program in seven communes of West and South Departments (US$ 10 million).
Considering the funds reserved at today’s Steering Committee meeting, the HRF will have allocated US$292 million of its US$396 million for 19 projects benefiting Haiti’s reconstruction. “The HRF is ready to answer additional financing requests. We look forward to working with the Government to mobilize and liberate resources,” concluded Josef Leitmann, HRF Manager.