Digicel Boss Funds Historic Haiti Project
Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien — whose Digicel telecommunications empire is headquartered in Bermuda –funded reconstruction of the iconic Iron Market in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, which was officially reopened yesterday [Jan. 11] by former US President Bill Clinton.
The first public building to have been completely restored since the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake, the historic Iron Market will be open for business in the coming days.
The entire reconstruction project was completed in just 11 months.
Mr. O’Brien is chairman of Digicel Group, one of the largest privately owned telecommunications companies in the world. He has said he incorporated Digicel here because Bermuda is one of the “top five international financial centres and a secure jurisdiction”. Digicel began to offer cell phone services to Bermuda in late 2005 after it bought out Cingular Wireless’ Caribbean and Bermuda operations.
The official opening of the re-constructed building took place in Port Au Prince with the ceremony performed by President Bill Clinton, Port-au-Prince Mayor Muscadin Jean-Yves Jason and Daniel Elie of ISPAN, a Haitian organisation concerned with the preservation of the country’s heritage which worked with Mr O’Brien on the reconstruction project.
Two Iron Market vendors, Christophe Loge and Myrtha Sanon, also participated.
Damaged by a 2008 fire and levelled in the 2010 earthquake, the Iron Market was built in the 1890s in Paris. It was originally intended for a station in Cairo but was bought by Haitian President Florvil Hyppolite when the Egyptian deal fell through.
The rebuilding project has been funded and spearheaded by Mr. O’Brien and wife Catherine in a personal capacity and cost $12 million.
It is estimated that over 900 vendors will operate from the new building selling arts and crafts, fruit and vegetables, dry produce and beauty products – many of these had stands in the Iron Market for years prior to last year’s earthquake which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Port Au Prince.
President Bill Clinton said; “Denis O’Brien has been a catalyst for many of the good things that have happened in Haiti, both before and after the earthquake. Since last year, he’s been the facilitator for our Clinton Global Initiative’s Haiti Action Network, and to date, CGI members have made more than $224 million in commitments since the earthquake. I’m delighted to be here today at the opening of the Iron Market which is a cultural, economic and social landmark in Haiti.”
Mr. O’Brien said: “A hive of economic activity, a place where industrious men and women meet, the economic engine for so many families – the Iron Market is as important as a social and community entity as it is a place of trade.
“The project to rebuild the Iron Market back to its former glory is more far reaching than an architectural achievement. It is an important symbol of the country’s recovery from the devastation and a window to a brighter future for the Haitian people. I would like to thank the many wonderful people who helped to make our dreams and visions a reality.”
Although several major obstacles were encountered during the project – like the rainy season, the cholera outbreak and a tropical storm stopping work on the site for a total of 20 days and the soil being mostly silt and so requiring engineered backfill to provide the requisite solid foundations – the team succeeded in bringing the project in right on time.
Local workers, materials and other services were utilised as much as possible in the re-building project and at one stage, the number of workers peaked at 750.
Digicel has invested more than $350 million in Haiti and has 2.4 million subscribers.
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