WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it has approved a US$41 million grant for the fifth and last phase of the Caracol Industrial Park (CIP), the main manufacturing hub in northern Haiti.

It said the CIP contributes to economic development in the north of the country, a priority for the Haitian government, by offering attractive conditions for companies to invest and generate formal employment.

“The current stage of the project aims to create 5,400 new jobs, of which about two-thirds will be filled by women. By end-September CIP employed 7,620 workers, and its goal is to reach 20,000 positions by 2020. The industrial park also helps strengthen Haiti´s economic diversification and export profile,” the IDB said.

It said this latest grant brings to US$$200.5 million, the amount the bank has contributed to the project since 2011 and will finance construction of factory shells and other infrastructure at the CIP.

It will also support SONAPI, the Haitian government agency in charge of industrial parks, in its efforts to monitor and enforce environmental, social, health, and safety rules. SONAPI will also develop a business plan to ensure its long-term sustainability.

During the project’s initial stages, industrial buildings, internal roads, a wastewater treatment plant and water purification plant were built. The United States government donated a power plant that provides energy to CIP factories as well as to some 9,000 households in nearby communities.

The IDB is Haiti’s leading multilateral donor. Since the 2010 earthquake it has approved more than US$1.25 billion in grants for agriculture, water and sanitation, energy, education, transport, private sector development, and employment projects, as well as for strengthening governmental institutions.