3 days ago
New southern Haiti seaport, renovated airport spark Haitian trade mission to Miami
A new international port and an extended airport runway in Haiti's southern region are spawning hope of new trade and investment opportunities between South Florida and the Caribbean nation.
That's the goal of a group of business leaders and investors from Haiti making the rounds in South Florida on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with key executives from the Port of Miami, Miami International Airport, the Beacon Council and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.
The visit comes as South Florida-based IBC Airways attempts to enter the Haitian market with charter and cargo service into the coastal city of Les Cayes.
Jeff Lozama, a South Florida resident originally from Haiti's southwest area, says he's hoping the visit will yield greater connections and business opportunities for the region, which in January inaugurated the new International Port of Saint Louis du Sud and then three months later opened an extended runway at Antoine Simon Airport in the coastal city of Les Cayes.
Both projects were carried out by the country's transitional government which, unable to make a dent in the crippling gang crisis, decided to focus on trying to boost the local economy of the southern region by bringing the two major infrastructure projects to fruition after years of being shelved by previous governments. In the case of the airport, which is named after a Haitian president who led a rebellion in the early 1900s, its 4,200-foot runway was finally extended to 6,000 feet after years of failed promises to accommodate some international flights.
Last month, IBC Airways conducted a test flight, fueling hope that the region will be open to tourists once more. But despite reportedly having permits to conduct cargo and charter passenger flights for the southern airport, IBC has run into problems, leading the head of Haiti's National Airport Authority to take to the radio on Wednesday to refute accusations that the company was being blocked from entering the Haitian market.
'We are always ready to talk, to negotiate with anyone who comes with a permit,' Yves Ducarmel François, the director general of the airport authority, said on Port-au-Prince's Magik 9. 'We don't give permits, and whoever has permits we will accommodate them. Our job is to give people space so they can work.'
François said a French firm is currently conducting a study on behalf of the airport authority to evaluate how the Antoine Simon Airport can become a true international airport capable of receiving Airbus jets carrying as many as 300 passengers. Also, the airport authority is preparing to sign an agreement with the private sector to have the airport operated as a public-private partnership.
The airport currently receives about 180 passengers a day, all of whom come in on domestic flights operated by local carrier Sunrise Airways. A major challenge at the Les Cayes airport, François said, is its lack of space to accommodate international travelers. Regulations don't allow for domestic and international passengers to fly out of the same space, François said.
'The infrastructure has to respond to the norms,' he said. François said airport authority staffers were sent to Les Cayes to see how they could accommodate IBC Airways, and he's currently 'awaiting IBC so we can put the infrastructure in place' to assure passengers' safety.
In the meantime, Lozama is hoping lessons can be learned from Miami-Dade County.
'We are trying to have very good business transactions … and connect our business environment with that of Miami-Dade County,' said Lozama, a member of the International Trade Consortium, which organized the visit.
Lozama says he's not just hoping for trade and investments but he is also looking for an exchange of ideas as Haitians meet their Miami counterparts in maritime, logistics and airport infrastructure. Among those from Haiti expected to be part of the trade mission: Jocelin Vilier, the head of the National Port Authority; Jean Nathan Letang, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Industry of Southern Haiti, and Cosy Joseph, an IT professional who worked in the U.S. and now heads Ideal Group S.A., which invests in agriculture and poultry farming. Joseph also sits on the board of the Chamber of Commerce of Women entrepreneurs and Professionals of Southern Haiti.
Also joining the group will be experts in maritime and ports logistics, international consultancy and the head of the Collective of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Grand South. In addition to making connections, the visit will also offer opportunities to learn from Miami-Dade's experience in managing large-scale infrastructure projects and exchange ideas on development strategies in Les Cayes.
Gerard Philippeaux, the executive director of the Miami-Dade International Trade Consortium, said he's confident of the mission's success.
'The Miami-Dade business community has international experience and will embrace the opportunities presented to them,' said Philippeaux. 'I applaud the members of this Haitian delegation for their fortitude in showcasing all the business and investment possibilities in existence in the southern region of Haiti.'
While the Les Cayes airport is a government initiative, the port is a private venture. The vision of Pierre Leger, an agronomist and leading investor before his death in February at age 77, and Ann Hauge, an American who has been involved in Haiti for decades, the International Port of Saint Louis du Sud was finally inaugurated in January when the transitional government signed the necessary agreements to make it operational.
The $6.5 million port can accommodate vessels up to 490 feet in length. Since its inauguration the southern port has received several ships including a vessel delivering cement from Panama and another with rice from Cap-Haïtien in the north. Though questions remain about the government's ability to put in place the proper security measures to prevent a possible gang incursion, the port is viewed as a positive development in a region where people are desperate for access to the outside world.
On the day of the inauguration, Hauge called for support for the port in encouraging 'the economy of the Greater South to be unblocked without gangs, without insecurity.' The Great South encompasses four regional departments in Haiti: the South/ Southwest, Southeast, Grande'Anse and Nippes. According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, the four areas are home to more than 497,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes by gangs.
Unlike Port-au-Prince, which has been almost completely overtaken by armed gangs, the southern regions of Haiti remain relatively calm. Still, the gang crisis in the capital has led to the south's isolation— and a higher cost of living for residents as major roads and tourism remain cut off by the gangs.
In 2021, Les Cayes and other nearby cities were struck by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people and caused widespread destruction. Nearly four years later, the region of rolling green mountains and vast farmland still has not fully recovered.
