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Jean Marie Abellard discusses the scope of the project and the importance of Canada's contribution.
Jean Marie Abellard is Technical Consultant for a Haitian road construction project called « Route pour le retour de la vie à Delmas 24 ».
|  Reconstructing Haiti
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Video Interview (in French with English transcripts)
Note: The opinions presented are not necessarily those of the Government of Canada.
(Video players are available here: QuickTime | Windows Media)
Transcript:
« Route pour le retour de la vie à Delmas 24 ».
It’s a 374-metre-long project. It will be surfaced in concrete, here, on this side. As far as drainage goes, the water is all collected from that space, up there. We are making the connection with the canal, which is here. It’s going to be seven meters wide, in concrete. Then there’s 174 metres of road that’s currently condemned, which will be in concrete.
We’ve already been working for a month, the project is going well and is off to a good start. Of course, production isn’t what you’d normally get on other projects, but it’s working just the same. There’s ample time to complete it.
Q: What impact will this have?
I’m hardly the one to ask; you should ask the little boy. But I’ll try to give you an answer. There were a lot of economic problems in the region. Now that the project is here, everyone is happy. Even though people are not benefiting directly from project money, there is an indirect benefit: you get petty traders coming to sell their wares. So everyone benefits and the money stays here. Even the trucks that bring us the equipment do not come from outside, but are from the area. So we’ve made sure the money stays here. This road will be surfaced in concrete, it will be clean. The people appreciate the fact that Canada is funding the project. They are still thanking the Canadian government for this project.
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« Route pour le retour de la vie à Delmas 24 ».