Jamaica has secured up to $6.7 billion in international support over the next three years to fund reconstruction after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa slammed into the Caribbean island in October.
The support will come from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean CAF, the IMF, the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the institutions said in a joint statement on Monday.
The institutions said that up to $3.6 billion of the package could be made available in sovereign financing for the government's recovery and reconstruction programme, including up to $1 billion each from CAF, the IDB and the World Bank, $200 million from the CDB, and a potential $415 million loan fro IMF under its rapid financing window for natural disasters.
The institutions added that their divisions linked to the private-sector — IDB Invest, IFC and MIGA — are working to mobilise an initial $2.4 billion in private investment to also support reconstruction.
The Category 5 hurricane struck Jamaica on October 28, unleashing catastrophic flooding and landslides with some 30 inches (76 cm) of rain, causing an estimated $10 billion in damages and damaging nearly 200,000 buildings.
