Grenada is to receive a package of financing from the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) totalling USD24.479 million for a number of projects intended to facilitate the recovery and reconstruction effort and to contribute to improving general economic conditions, reducing economic vulnerabilities and preserving the country’s debt sustainability.

Approval for the financing was given at a meeting of CDB’s Board of Directors at the Bank’s Headquarters in Barbados on December 8 and 9.

Among the projects is a Bridge and Road Improvement Project which is expected to contribute to the social and economic development of Grenada through improved road transport infrastructure.

It is also expected to reduce vehicle operating costs and contribute to improved safety for road users. A loan equivalent to USD11.939 million was approved to assist the Government in financing the reconstruction of approximately 2.1 kilometres of main arterial road in St. George’s – including one bridge.

The project also includes the replacement of two bridges located on the Western Main Road which have exceeded their design life and have deteriorated substantially and are no longer able to safely support existing and projected traffic loads.

In 2001, CDB’s Board of Directors approved a loan for a Bridge and Road Improvement Project. That project was significantly advanced at the time Hurricane Ivan struck the island.
A Hurricane Reconstruction Support loan equivalent to USD5.413 million was approved to assist the Government in meeting its financial obligations in order to sustain an economic recovery programme.

Grenada was devastated by Hurricane Ivan on September 7, 2004. The sharp decrease in Government revenues resulting from the economic downturn associated with the hurricane, coupled with the emergency expenditures for relief and rehabilitation placed significant pressure on the Government’s budget in 2004.

In 2005, the Government stepped up its efforts to raise additional revenue and to regain debt sustainability, however, ten months after Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Emily caused significant damage, escalating the country’s reconstruction needs and adding to fiscal pressure.

The CDB loan is intended to assist the Grenada Government in meeting its financial obligations in order to sustain an economic recovery programme.

Financing was also approved for a project designed to restore essential road infrastructure and to reduce the risk of loss of life and damage to public and private property associated with rock fall and landslip incidents.

It is also expected to provide cost avoidance benefits by reducing rehabilitation and road-clearing costs in the aftermath of natural hazards.

A loan equivalent to USD5.2 million was approved for this Disaster Mitigation and Restoration Project. Grenada has had a history of landslides, which include rockfalls and landslip incidents characterised by rapid mass movement of solids on steep slopes.

The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Communications, Works and Transport. This is the second major disaster mitigation and restoration project in Grenada to be financed by CDB.

The CDB also announced that members of low-income households, including certain households located in hazardous areas, will be the main beneficiaries of a loan to the Government equivalent to USD 1.927 million.

The financing was approved for a Sites and Services Project to improve the shelter conditions of low-income households in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. The project will provide 116 serviced plots at two sites – Soubise and Mount Gay – which will accommodate members of 186 households with the kind of amenities not previously available to them.

Persons living in vulnerable areas along beachfronts, steep hillsides and gullies will be relocated to areas which are less susceptible to storm surges, landslides and flooding.

This project is critical to the long-term programme of housing and human settlement recovery and reconstruction in Grenada.
The Ministry of Social Development and Housing will be the implementing agency.