Tutor Perini Corporation, announced Thursday that its subsidiary, Perini Management Services, Inc. (PMSI), has begun construction on a $12.7 million U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded project for electrical reconstruction in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The project involves the rehabilitation and upgrade of 5 municipal 69-kV substations at various sites in the Port-au-Prince area. Haiti's electrical transmission and distribution systems were damaged in the 2010 earthquake, and repairs and upgrades are urgently needed to restore reliable electric power to residential and commercial customers and to support future economic growth.

PMSI has been managing the inspection and testing of the existing equipment and coordinating design issues with USAID and Electricité d'Haiti (EDH), since the project was awarded in November 2011. Prior to the start of construction in April, PMSI conducted comprehensive safety training for our Haitian subcontractor's workforce. The initial construction work involves reconstruction of surrounding walls and fences to establish security at the work sites.

PMSI mobilized to Haiti in February 2010 to re-establish relationships with local Haitian construction firms with whom we had worked in the past. In early 2012, we opened a branch office in Port-au-Prince to pursue additional reconstruction and development projects in the country.

Robert Band, CEO of Perini Management Services said, "Tutor Perini is very pleased to provide reconstruction assistance to USAID and the people of Haiti. We have previously performed similar electrical projects throughout Iraq, and despite the challenging nature of the work, we find it rewarding to accomplish the much needed rehabilitation of infrastructure in these countries."

HL/ HaitiLibre