Washington, D.C., June 30, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide $7.5 million in financing to SCIOP S.A to complete the OASIS Complex, a mixed-use hotel complex in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The IFC investment will create jobs, generate business opportunities for small and midsize enterprises, promote sustainable growth in the tourism industry, and provide essential business infrastructure in a city devastated by the effects of the January 2010 earthquake.
SCIOP S.A. is owned by a group of Haitian investors dedicated to being part of Haiti’s reconstruction with foreign partners. The IFC investment will enable SCIOP S.A. to resume construction of the Oasis Complex, with more ambitious objectives than before the earthquake. Strategically located in the center of Pétion-Ville, a business and residential area in Port-au-Prince, the project’s construction was halted following the earthquake.
The complex now will include a 132-room business hotel, a retail component, a conference center, restaurants, and parking facilities. It will increase the availability of international standard hotel rooms in Haiti.
The project also will create direct and indirect employment opportunities for local Haitians, and generate supply linkages for local vendors, especially microentrepreneurs and small enterprise owners.
“In the wake of the earthquake, IFC’s financial support and technical expertise to our group were key in finalizing the outline and scope of the Oasis project. IFC’s support now allows us to restart the construction of this landmark development that will be, upon completion, a tangible symbol of Haiti’s rebirth from the ashes of the January 12 earthquake,” said SCIOP S.A.’s CEO Jerry Tardieu.
“IFC is pleased to be part of the reconstruction efforts in Haiti by supporting SCIOP S.A. The Oasis Complex will lodge one of the first hotels to be completed in Port-au-Prince following the earthquake,” said Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC Director for Global Manufacturing and Services. “The project also will send a strong signal to potential investors, and will help raise industry standards in areas such as life and fire safety practices and earthquake- resistant building design.”
IFC has invested $68.6 million in Haiti’s private sector since 2006. IFC’s focus is to ensure access to finance for local firms and encourage the development of infrastructure, such as ports, roads, energy plants, and telecommunications capabilities. IFC has ramped up its advisory services to improve the country’s business climate, attract investors, and simplify regulatory frameworks for special economic zones. For more information, visit:
www.ifc.org/lac
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About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing capital for private enterprise, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About SCIOP S.A.
Société de Construction d’Immeubles & d’Ouvrages Publics SA, or SCIOP S.A., is a corporation governed by Haitian law and established in 2006 to undertake real estate developments in Haiti. The company is composed of a large number of individual and corporate investors, and has a board of directors composed of 11 existing shareholders.
