Infrastructure: investments in infrastructure underway thanks to international aid.

Key to developing the Haitian economy will be significant investment in all aspects of the country's primary infrastructure, from building roads, to modernizing the phone system, and bringing online new capacity in the electricity industry. An important component of infrastructure development will be the proposed construction of new terminals at Port au Prince airport to modernize and eventually replace the existing facilities built more than 40 years ago, which are now outdated and no longer sufficient to serve as the main international gateway to the country. On the upside, Haiti boasts a high level of air traffic security. The Port-au-Prince Airport is now in category one thanks to the efforts of OFNAC (Office National de I'Aviation Civile), National Civil Aviation Office. OFNAC was formed in 1980 and regulates all of Haiti's aeronautical activity. CEO, Jean Lemerque Pierre who survived the recent political upheavals thanks to his uncontested competence at the head of this organization has been closely working with the American Federation Aviation Administration since 9/11 to ensure the security of Haitian skies.

"Security has become the key element in civil aviation since 2001. We regularly send our staff to advanced training in Miami in order to keep up with increasing security requirements" says Jean Lemerque Pierre. Port activity is also a key element in developing the country's economy. In Haiti, 90% of the trade goes through Port au Prince harbour, which plays a key role in the country's development. In fact, the InterAmerican Bank for Development is very active in financing the port rehabilitation. The National Port Authority, APN, under the direction of Pierre Evens Charles, is slowly recovering from years of corruption, absence of investments and pillage. "We are under obligation by the Inter-American Bank for Development to implement the International Code for the Safety of Port Installations. An important aspect of this code is to ensure the security of merchandise which was always a challenge for the APN. Thanks to a very strict security program put in place in April 2004, we can say that today, thefts are non existent" says Pierre Evens Charles. He continues, "We are also facing problems regarding contraband and drug trafficking, which are also on the list of our priorities of problems to fight".

The cost of implementing the international code is very high. However, APN is able to support this cost on its own without resorting to bank loans. Thanks to an austere rescue plan, CEO Pierre Evens Charles is proud that APN is showing a profit after 10 straight years of showing a deficit. "Haiti is still in the middle of an economic crisis, but we are doing everything we can to regain lost traffic. One has to remember that Port-au-Prince in the 1980's occupied a leading position in the region. Our strategic location should enable us to regain the leadership in the next decade". The National Port Authority's long term goal is to develop the port area and include a duty free and industrial zone of 1200 to 1600 acres.