Wall Street Journal: Planned Haitian Textile Park Provides Hope for Jobs

From the Wall Street Journal, January 2011

"Haitian and U.S. officials plan to announce on Tuesday a $250 million deal to develop an industrial park that officials expect to double the size of Haiti's key textile sector. [...]

"'It's development the way it should be done,' said [Paul] Collier, noting its emphasis on job creation rather than aid. 'It will bring decent jobs, which in a fragile state is a key priority, and it will have an important multiplier effect.'

"The project's location in the north of the country away from the crowded and now devastated capital of Port-au-Prince will help decentralize development in Haiti, another key goal, Mr. Collier said.

"The garment industry accounts for 90% of Haiti's exports, valued at about $450 million a year. The sector provides employment for about 28,000 people, about one-third of manufacturing workers. The Haitian government's goal is to ramp up employment in the sector to at least 100,000 people, the number who worked in the industry during its heyday 20 years ago.[...]"

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal / World News.