Haitian and U.S. authorities plan to announce today an agreement of 244 million dollars to develop the new industrial park of the North. Covering an area of 623 acres, the new manufacturing facility will be located on the north coast (between Cap Haitien and Ouanaminthe). The project included the development of road infrastructure, housing, access to energy, logistics and the construction of the first textile factory of the company Sae-A Trading Co. Ltd, a leading textile manufacturer (producer and exporter) of South Korea and a major player in this project.

The Sae-A Trading Co. Ltd. will contribute $70 million to the project, the United States is committed to around 124 million among others, for the production of electricity for the industrial park and the construction of nearly 5,000 homes, while the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will provide $50 million for infrastructure manufacturers. With the arrival of other companies that have already manifested their interest to invest in Haiti, the park could create over 60,000 jobs, see up to 100,000 jobs in its future expansion.

Remember that with the recent promulgation of the Law HELP (formerly HOPE III) by the U.S. Congress, companies in the apparel industry have expressed interest in increasing their supply in Haiti and enjoy the privileges of franchise available for export to the U.S. market. The garment industry in Haiti represented 75% of export earnings and employed over 60,000 workers before the earthquake [less than 25,000 today].

A ceremony will take place this Tuesday, Jan. 11 at the local of Haiti Apparel Center (HAC) Building # 48, located at the Industrial Park SONAPI in Port-au-Prince, in the presence of many stakeholders, primarily the Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and Former President Bill Clinton arrived today in Port-au-Prince. Bill Clinton will participate Wednesday in a ceremony in memory of victims of the earthquake, which killed at least 230,000 people and to a ceremony in memory of the 102 UN members who died during the disaster.

For Paul Collier, an economist at Oxford University who wrote a development plan for Haiti for the United Nations before the earthquake, "This is the development as it should be done", noting the focus placed on job creation rather than on humanitarian aid "this project will provide decent jobs, which in a fragile state, is a key priority, and will have a significant multiplier effect [...] the location of the project in the north, will help to decentralize development in Haiti, another key objective."

See also:

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1232-haiti-economy-investments-between-10-and-25-million-in-the-textile.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1343-haiti-economy-textile-news-textile-news.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-1089-haiti-jacmel-signature-de-projets-d-un-montant-de-30-a-40-millions-de-dollars.html (in french)

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-963-haiti-economie-une-nouvelle-zone-industrielle.html (in french)

BF/ HaitiLibre