Rebuilding Haiti: A Survey of Buyers and Builders Two Years After the Earthquake
Rebuilding Haiti: A Survey of Buyers and Builders Two Years After the Earthquake
2012
On January 12, 2010, an earthquake inflicted devastation across Haiti. In response, the international community tripled its aid contributions to the country. This spending represents an opportunity to rebuild Haiti physically and stimulate the local economy by contracting with local firms to undertake construction projects. From May to August 2011, Building Markets undertook two surveys in Port-au-Prince to look at local procurement efforts undertaken by international organizations in the construction sector. The first survey was administered to 303 Haitian construction firms and captured their perspectives on bidding for contracts and working with international organizations. The second survey was addressed to 33 procurement officers and project managers working for international organizations. It captured their impressions of the local market, their attitudes to local procurement, and the barriers they face when seeking to contract with local firms.
The findings presented in this report offer the first attempt to examine how post-earthquake reconstruction activity is affecting relationships between international organizations spending funds on construction and local Haitian businesses operating in the construction sector. The findings highlight the many Haitian firms participating in the reconstruction effort. However, many areas of practice by both procurement officers and local firms are holding back the level and positive impact of local procurement.