Taiwan and Haiti to sign agreement for construction of power grid

Taiwan and Haiti are expected to sign an agreement by the end of this year for the construction of a power grid in Port-au-Prince to alleviate the country’s energy supply problems.
According to a report in the Taipei Times, this would be Taiwan’s first official development assistance (ODA) loan to a diplomatically.
The project, which would reportedly cost  US$146.98 million is one of the initiatives being discussed by a bilateral high-level task force that was established to draft new terms of cooperation in accordance with a consensus reached between President Tsai Ing-wen and Haitian President Jovenel Moise during his visit to Taiwan in May.
The project includes the construction and renovation of substations and transmission towers, as well as the provision of maintenance training to local personnel.
“The project is to be executed in the form of an ODA, under which a Taiwanese bank would provide a commercial loan to the Haitian government and the project would be contracted to a Taiwanese construction firm,” an unnamed official told the paper, adding that the project is expected to take at least two years to complete, based on reconnaissance trips.
The official said that the government is hoping to demonstrate to the leaders of its allies that “we are as good as our word” by quickly starting work on the project.