Haiti needs $11.4 bn for reconstruction

Mexico City, March 22 (IANS/EFE) The reconstruction needs of earthquake devastated Haiti will exceed $11.4 billion, said an expert from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, or ECLAC.

"Just returning to a state similar to what there was (before the quake), which was already deteriorated, would cost more than $7.8 billion," said Ricardo Zapata, who returned to Mexico after being in Haiti for a month to evaluate the damage before the donor conference which will be held March 31 in New York.

The total figure for the estimated needs in Haiti, "perhaps for the next 7 to 10 years, is $11.4 billion, but the debate today is more about how than about with whom" to work on the enormous recovery effort, Zapata told EFE Sunday.

At this point, humanitarian aid is still lacking in the Caribbean country to help the people get by in the wake of the magnitude-7.2 quake that struck Jan 12, virtually destroying Port-au-Prince and leaving 1.5 million people homeless, almost 15 percent of the national population.

"The concern is that the flow of resources is not coming," Zapata said. Also, between $4 billion and $5 billion to finance over the next 18 months various employment programs in agriculture, industry and the service sector is still lacking.

The expert said it was important, for example, for the 760,000 people who fled the capital after the temblor to have to settle outside Port-au-Prince and not to see themselves forced to return to the ruined city.

The conference of donors to Haiti will allow the participating countries to establish "how much money they are going to contribute to this process" by whatever means, such as forgiveness of debt, delivery of new resources or in other areas, Zapata said.

More than 222,000 people died, another 311,000 were injured and 869 are listed as missing in Haiti as a result of the quake, which may well have destroyed more than 100,000 homes.