Almost six months after the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, the Oasis hotel project is on its way to revival.
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide USÂ $7.5 million in low-interest financing to developers to help restart construction of the hotel as early as possible.
Already under construction in Petionville, the Oasis’ hotel building had survived the earthquake, but the restaurant was badly damaged.
Henrik Pedersen, IFC tourism sector head, said Oasis’ survival of the 7.0-magnitude quake and its ability to create jobs in a shattered economy were among the things that made the project appealing.
The plan to create office space has been scrapped to increase the rooms from 60 to 132. IFC will also provide technical assistance.
The earthquake on Jan 12 left a government-estimated 300,000 dead, and wiped out 848 of Port-au-Prince’s 1,621 hotel rooms, including the country’s most well-known and prized brand, Hotel Montana.
Since the devastation, the international community has pledged more than $5 billion for rebuilding over the next two years, but donors have been slow to fulfill their pledges.
