Port-au-Prince.– Haiti will receive a US$15.4 million grant provided by Canada and administered by the Inter-American Development Bank to complete a crucial road project linking Port-au-Prince with the southern provinces of Grand Anse, Nippes, Sud and Sud-Est.

The grant will help finance the fourth and last stage to complete the southern entry access into Port-au-Prince, known as “Route des Rails” in the Carrefour suburb.

The project, which is to be completed in two years, aims to ease traffic congestion in the Carrefour area, thus reducing the total travel time between downtown Port-au-Prince and the south of the country.

The project also includes improvements in the rain drainage system in the area, rehabilitation of several local streets, the construction of a new bus station serving travelers to and from the south as well as pedestrian safety measures and traffic signaling.

The grant was approved by the IDB as part of a US$109.7 million program to improve Haiti’s basic economic infrastructure. The IDB is contributing US$70 million to the program and the Canadian International Development Agency another US$31.9 million. The Haitian government has put up US$800,000 and OPEC US$7 million.