Hurricane Dean Recovery Project to be Launched on Friday

The Hurricane Dean Emergency Recovery Project (ERP), which will provide funding for the rehabilitation of select schools, community infrastructure and roads, which were damaged as a result of the hurricane last year, will be launched in Clarendon on Friday (June 27).
Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, is expected to address the launching ceremony, which will be held on the grounds of the May Pen Health Department.
At the function, five contracts, valued at more than $37 million will be signed to fund repairs to four roads in Manchester and St. Thomas, and the May Pen Health Centre.
In addition, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), which is the implementing agency for the ERP project, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with project partners, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), and the Ministry of Education.
After the passage of Hurricane Dean in August 2007, and the resultant damage to the social and physical infrastructure of the country, a US$10 million loan facility was obtained from the World Bank for the implementation of the ERP project.
This initiative will facilitate the rehabilitation of the infrastructure in select primary and early childhood institutions, community-based health clinics and parochial/agricultural feeder roads. A portion of the loan will also be used in the building of capacity towards hazard risk reduction.
A total of 72 schools, 16 roads, and 22 health centres across the island, which sustained damage due to the hurricane, will benefit from the project.