HAITI INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS SAID TO BE MOVING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000117 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR, DRL, S/CRS, INR/IAA SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PAS AID FOR LAC/CAR TREASURY FOR MAUREEN WAFER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EIND EAIR HA SUBJECT: HAITI INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS SAID TO BE MOVING AHEAD; HELP STILL NEEDED PORT AU PR 00000117 001.2 OF 002 This message is sensitive but unclassified. Please handle accordingly. Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The Minister of Public Works says that Haiti is moving ahead on airport modernization, electricity generation, and road construction. A project of general airport modernization will privatize the international airport in Port-au-Prince. The Minister wants to work with TSA on upgrading airport security. Haiti is building three SIPDIS new power plants with the help of Venezuela, and repairing existing power plants, results of which should be felt by June. With the help of international donors, Haiti is proceeding apace with road construction and refurbishment in the capital and the regions. The Minister lamented that Haiti suffers from a continuing exodus of skilled talent, and hoped his ministry could partner with U.S. federal and state institutions. End Summary Airport Security/Modernization -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador called on Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications Frantz Verella January 17 to present the written findings of the June 2007 TSA study of security conditions at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince. Verella said that his ministry, along with the Ministry of Interior and the Secretary of State for Public Security were following up on airport security, which he conceded had to be improved. Haiti was embarking on a program of airport modernization that would include privatization of the facility. Bringing the private sector into administration of the airport would require new legislation. He expected the international airport in Port-au-Prince to have a new operator by the end of 2009. Verella promised to work with TSA on airport security. ¶3. (SBU) The Minister noted that in the context of national transportation and public works, Haiti lacked skilled people. There was a continuous ''brain exodus'' of skilled people from Haiti. He wondered whether departments of public works of individual states, such as Iowa or Arkansas, could serve as a model for Haiti, and help restructure his ministry, perhaps with the help of Haitian-Americans working in the U.S. Department of Transportation. He also suggested that U.S. state universities partner with his ministry for the same purpose. Filling the Power Gap -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Minister provided a tour-d'horizon of investment projects in which his ministry is involved. The most serious immediate problem was the lack of electrical power in much of the country. The three Venezuela-supplied power plants -- in Port-au-Prince, Gonaives, and Cap Haitien -- were scheduled to come on-line later this year, although the target dates might slip. They would go a long way to providing the additional 100 MW that Haiti needed, but Haiti would need additional funds to pay for the fuel to power them. Haiti's national electricity company (Electricite d'Haiti - EDH) continued to lose money due to lax payment discipline and widespread illegal tapping. EDH thus needed a new management company, the first priority of which would be to increase bill collection. In addition, the Ministry was working with various private firms to repair and upgrade smaller power stations throughout the country, including in Belladere. The Minister predicted that Haiti overall would have increased electrical power by June, contributing to overall stability. Road Network -------------- PORT AU PR 00000117 002.2 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) The Ministry was working with the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank on terms for upgrading and expanding Haiti's road network. The GOH expected the IDB to supply a few million USD worth of road-building equipment by April-May of this year. Construction continued on the road from Port-au-Prince to Les Cayes. Only a few kilometers remained to complete the stretch from Port-au-Prince to Miragoane, which would then be extended to Aquin. A study was underway for the stretch Miragoane-Jeremie. North east of Port-au-Prince, the road from Croix des Bouquets to Mirabalais was under construction. A call for tenders was out for the segments Mirabalais-Hinche and Hinche-Cap Haitien. The EU would finance most of the latter two projects. ¶6. (SBU) Turning to road building in the capital, Verella recalled that President Preval had declared rehabilitation of the capital's transportation network a priority. The Minister planned the rehabilitation of center city transport along five or six transportation axes. However, the Minister noted the delicacy of this task: Haiti's ''fragile society", with its lack of respect for law, had difficulty coping with impositions on property owners caused by major construction. These included reclamation of public sidewalks that had been occupied by street vendors and covered with walls by owners of street-side properties. The Ministry had let tenders to foreign companies for rapid repavement of segments of two central thoroughfares, which had been completed in two nights with minimal disruptions to traffic. Those projects would continue. They were relatively easy, because they involved no claims on property owners. Other road repavements and widening, however, would necessitate informing property owners that construction, such as walls, that encroached on public sidewalks or roadways would be removed by the government. The government is approaching this issue carefully; mailing each property owner involved three letters of warning, followed by a final visit by a Ministry official. SANDERSON