Thursday, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State of Qatar Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti (Qatar Haiti Fund) signed a partnership agreement for the reconstruction efforts, including the building of 148 permanent houses, a vocational school and a commercial area.

The joint grant agreement will finance the development of a new community in the vicinity of Cabaret, about 14 miles from Port-au-Prince. The Qatar Haiti Fund will provide $5 million to support the construction of 148 houses, a vocational school and a commercial area with shops and stalls. USAID will contribute $4 million to finance site preparation and construction management services for the project, which is being constructed on 5.55 hectares of land provided by the Government of Haiti.

"The U.S. Government has made a long-term commitment to help Haiti recover and rebuild, and we are pleased to collaborate with the State of Qatar and the Government of Haiti to develop this new community," declared USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah (right) and Mohamed Bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi, Qatari Ambassador to the United States and chairman for the Qatar Haiti Fund, sign a joint grant agreement on June 6, 2013, to finance the development of a new community in Haiti.

"The partnership agreement with USAID is a testimony to the commitment of the State of Qatar through the Qatar Haiti Fund to helping the Haitian people [...] This agreement will allow us to work together to build 'Qatar City', which will feature permanent housing for quake-affected Haitians, a vocational school and a commercial area, to generate a sustainable micro-economy for the victims of the earthquake," declared Mohamed Bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi, Qatari Ambassador to the United States and chairman for the Qatar Haiti Fund.

The Fund’s collaboration with USAID will feature innovative approaches in permanent housing in Haiti. Each 35-square-meter, two-room unit will meet hurricane and earthquake resistance standards and will include piped water, kitchens, flush toilets and solar panels for lighting and recharging small electronic devices.

Open space will be made available in the development to accommodate future infrastructure such as schools, community centers and gardens. Beneficiaries of the houses will be selected through a process established by the Government of Haiti, working with donor and NGO communities. The process – used in other post-earthquake housing programs – is carried out by a local Beneficiary Selection Committee comprised of upstanding representatives from the public and private sectors.

USAID will begin the competitive procurement process by late June to select a contractor to develop the site and construct the houses.

In addition to the houses being built through the Qatar Haiti Fund, USAID is constructing 906 houses on new settlements and partnering with other donors and NGOs for the construction of approximately 2,200 additional houses.

HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre