Brussels, 30/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 30 November, the European Investment Bank (EIB) decided to provide further aid for Haiti's banking, water and healthcare industries during a visit by EIB lending experts to the Caribbean.
The EIB has decided to back a special programme to finance small businesses to encourage growth of the private sector in the country. To this end, it has given a loan of €5 million, which will be managed locally by 'Société Financière Haïtienne de Développement S.A'. (SOFIHDES), in addition to a €3 million loan to provide financing for 'Action pour la Coopération avec la Micro-entreprise (ACME)' for microenterprises. The loans will be in local currency to remove the problems of changing currency for local institutions and include technical assistance.
Long-term improvement in the water industry in the Port-au-Prince region is also being backed by the EIB. Water supplies and sewerage systems in Haiti have suffered from chronic underinvestment for many years and the situation has been made worse by lack of maintenance, not to mention the problems generated by the huge earthquake in January 2010. The EIB is funding feasibility studies into the updating and extension of the provision of drinking water and sewerage systems in the worst-supplied areas of Port-au-Prince, the country's capital. (OL/transl.fl)