Jamaica just locked down $6.7 billion in disaster financing after Hurricane Melissa ripped through the island, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness told parliament the speed was basically unheard of. The package came from a bunch of international lenders working together, and the country already tapped $662 million from emergency funds it had set up before the storm even hit.
Holness said the whole thing shows how much prep work Jamaica did beforehand with risk financing tools that could get triggered fast. The damage estimates are sitting around $8.8 billion, and there is another $3.6 billion lined up over three years for rebuilding infrastructure and helping out vulnerable households.
The lenders are also throwing in $12 million for technical help, and they want to pull in $2.4 billion more from private investors to keep the rebuild going without wrecking the national budget.
Holness said the whole thing shows how much prep work Jamaica did beforehand with risk financing tools that could get triggered fast. The damage estimates are sitting around $8.8 billion, and there is another $3.6 billion lined up over three years for rebuilding infrastructure and helping out vulnerable households.
The lenders are also throwing in $12 million for technical help, and they want to pull in $2.4 billion more from private investors to keep the rebuild going without wrecking the national budget.
