Fund launched to help reconstruct Haiti's National Palace

The Haitian government has issued a decree establishing a fund for the reconstruction of the historic National Palace that was severely damaged by the devastating earthquake that hit the country in January 2010 killing more than 250,000 people and causing widespread destruction.

Voluntary contributions sought in cash/kind

The decree, published in the official newspaper, “Le Moniteur” outlines the mechanisms for accepting voluntary contributions from individuals and institutions under the Solidarity Fund.

The decree noted that the fund will allow for the voluntary contributions “in cash and in kind” from citizens here and in the diaspora as well as foreign nationals.

It also states how contributions in goods and services, including the provision, free of charge, of heavy equipment, premises, materials and equipment, means of transport and intellectual services.

Estimated rebuilding cost US$40 to $50 million

While the Presidential Commission for the Reconstruction of the National Palace, created last April, is yet to indicate the cost for the reconstruction of the Palace, architect Daniel Élie, a member of the Commission, said recently that the project could cost between US$40 and US$50 million.

The Commission has said that the financing of the Palace could be spread over four fiscal years to avoid putting a heavy burden on the local economy.

Élie said that the reconstruction of the building should draw on the work of the late Haitian architect Georges Baussan, who built the National Palace in 1918, and considered at the time as the most successful Neoclassical Palace of the Americas.