Lafiteau Explained

Official Name:Lafiteau
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Haiti
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Haiti
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Haiti
Subdivision Type1:Department
Subdivision Name1:Ouest
Subdivision Type2:Arrondissement
Subdivision Name2:Arcahaie
Subdivision Type3:Commune
Subdivision Name3:Cabaret
Unit Pref:Imperial
Timezone:EST
Utc Offset:-5
Coordinates:18.6922°N -72.3539°W

Lafiteau, also called Carrefour Lafiteau, is a small industrial port town, about nine miles north of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in the commune of Cabaret in the Haiti. It lies to the south of Titanyen. Many supply ships entered this port in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake as part of earthquake relief operations. The road to the port is maintained well after the earthquake, and the port and its jetties also, which suffered damage due to the earthquake, are in continuous process of refurbishing.[1]

Geography

Lafiteau, with an average elevation of 9m (30feet), is 1.3miles east-southeast of Ile à Cabrit and 210m (690feet) southwest of the coast.[2] [3] Several shoal patches are distributed less than a miles off the coast.[4]

Transportation

The nearest airport to the port town is the Toussaint Louverture International Airport at Port-au-Prince where Insel Air, American Airways, Air Canada, Air Freight NZ, Air France, Copa, Delta, Spirit, Air Bridge Cargo provide both air cargo and passenger services.[2]

The port is approached from the Port-au-Prince over a well maintained road, Route Nationale 1 (100).

Economy

The economy of the port town is supported by notable processing plants, including the Caribbean Mills Processing Plant and the Grain Processing Plant.[5] In 2009, Les Moulins d'Haiti, a wheat flour mill, sold more than 170,000 metric tons of wheat flour.[6]

Port Lafito

Lafiteau is the home of the Port Lafito Industrial Free Zone, Haiti's only Panamax seaport. Quay side terminal of 130,000 square meters (13 hectares), 450 meters of berth, 12.5 meters of safe draft, Dock height is approximately 3.3 meters above mean sea level.[7] [8]

Jobs

The construction of the Port Lafito and of a free zone, located 25 minutes from Port-au-Prince, at a cost of US$150 million, is part of the "Lafito Global" project initiated by Gilbert Bigio's GB Group, in partnership with the Haitian government and several other Haitian private sector entrepreneurs to create jobs and stimulate the local economy.[9] Over 20,000 jobs will be created within the next four years.

Healthcare

The Hospital Centre of the Haitian Academy is located in Lafiteau. In October 2010, news reports stated there were two cholera-related deaths in Lafiteau.[10]

Mass graves

Victims of the Haiti presidents "Papa Doc" Duvaliers and "Baby Doc" Duvalier were buried in mass graves in Lafiteau, as were 100,000 of the 2010 Haiti earthquake victims.[11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Seaboard Vessels Regularly Dock in Haiti . Seaboard Magazine. March 17, 2010. October 22, 2010.
  2. Web site: Lafiteau, Haiti Page. 2010-10-24 . fallingrain.com.
  3. Book: Sailing Directions (enroute): Caribbean Sea, Volume 1. Volume 147 of Pub. United States. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, ProStar Publications. 8. 98. 2004. 1-57785-567-1.
  4. Book: United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Sailing Directions (enroute): Caribbean Sea. 8. 1. 2004. ProStar Publications. 1-57785-567-1. 98.
  5. Google Maps. Google. October 22, 2010-->.
  6. Web site: Welcome to Les Moulins d' Haiti. lmh-ht.net. 24 October 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101229160049/http://lmh-ht.net/Homepage.aspx. 29 December 2010. dead.
  7. News: Haiti aims for Caribbean hub status . May 27, 2015. Port Strategy. 14 June 2015.
  8. Web site: Port Layout. 2015 Port Lafito S.A.. 14 June 2015.
  9. News: Haiti - Economy : Port Lafito, a historic first. February 23, 2015. 11 April 2015.
  10. News: Haiti: Health Workers Scramble to Keep Cholera out of Crowded Camps. Herz. Ansel. October 22, 2010. Inter Press Service. 24 October 2010.
  11. News: Haiti: Eight Weeks After the Quake and Words Fail. Nienaber. Georgianne. March 12, 2010. Huffington Post. 24 October 2010.