Tuesday, the Ambassador of France in Haiti, Elisabeth Beton Delègue participated in the inauguration of the Municipal Complex of Jacmel rehabilitated in partnership with the Spanish Cooperation (AECID) by the French Development Agency (AFD) within the framework of a project dedicated to the environment and urban development, which also includes the development of the banks of the river Orangers

The initial project, amounting to 12 million euros, was drawn up in 2007 by AFD, in partnership with Strasbourg, a historic partner of decentralized cooperation with Jacmel, to improve the urban environment of its inhabitants and fight against recurring floods while supporting the municipality in the management of its services.

This project originally was composed of three components :

• The fight against floods and drainage of rainwater through the strengthening of bridges, the recovery of the banks of the Grande Rivière de Jacmel and Gosselin but also the creation of a dike;

• The capacity building of the Jacmel town hall, in conjunction with the Alsace Regional Institute for Cooperation and Development (IRCOD), particularly in the field of household waste management and the operation of municipal services ;

• The technical assistance for the reform of the drinking water sector.

The earthquake of 2010 having considerably damaged the historical building of the city hall of Jacmel as well as the whole municipal complex, the AFD decided in 2013 to allocate the remaining funds to be paid, or 750,000 euros, to the rehabilitation of the municipal complex. The work was carried out in partnership with the Spanish Cooperation, which implements a project of capacity building of the Town Hall of Jacmel and the Departmental Directorate of Tourism in planning and urban management of the city center.

In total, AFD financed the following infrastructure works : reconstruction of the buildings adjoining the Town Hall to strengthen their reception capacity; rehabilitation of the School of the Sisters of Cluny with the assistance of École Atelier de Jacmel; rehabilitation of the retaining wall around the Complex to limit its degradation and improve safety; development of the Toussaint Louverture square opposite the Municipal Complex and reinforcement of the floor of the historic building of the Mairie de Jacmel.

Additional funding of 750,000 euros was also granted to continue the work on the river Orangers. The objective is to avoid the resettlement of the populations by improving the banks thanks to actions under community control

HL/ HaitiLibre