The 2026 Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Transport Forum, a high-level collaborative event co-hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) in Miami, has put a spotlight on untapped infrastructure investment opportunities in Haiti, opening new doors for global and regional private stakeholders to engage with the Caribbean nation’s development goals.
On the forum’s opening day, Haiti’s Minister of Public Works Joseph Almathe Pierre Louis took the stage to outline the country’s strategic infrastructure vision to an audience of cabinet-level transport officials, public policy leaders, and major private sector investors. His core message centered on upgrading Haiti’s aging transport infrastructure while repositioning the country as a high-potential strategic investment hub for both regional and international market players.
Opening-day policy discussions centered on three core priorities for unlocking infrastructure investment: strengthening market confidence among private stakeholders, streamlining bureaucratic processes for early-stage project preparation, and embedding performance-driven governance standards that prioritize long-term infrastructure quality. The opening dialogue served as a critical strategic foundation, aligning national development priorities with the risk and return expectations of private investors, and set the stage for the detailed project showcase held on the forum’s second day, September 30, 2026.
On the second day, FIDIC organized a dedicated Project Roadshow tailored exclusively for private sector participants and international investors, where Minister Pierre Louis delivered a comprehensive breakdown of the Haitian government’s planned transport modernization pipeline. He emphasized the administration’s unwavering commitment to upgrading the country’s road, maritime, and aviation networks, framing the investments as a triple win: expanding connectivity to historically isolated communities, catalyzing broad-based national economic recovery, and boosting Haiti’s capacity to withstand the frequent natural hazards that impact the region.
The minister walked attendees through the national infrastructure portfolio, highlighting key shovel-ready projects across multiple transport sub-sectors. For road infrastructure, the Ministry of Public Works has secured World Bank funding to construct three critical bridges across Haiti’s southern peninsula, alongside a new connector road linking National Route 2 to the planned new international port at Saint-Louis-du-Sud. In aviation, the government is moving forward with two major upgrades: a new air traffic control tower at Cap-Haïtien International Airport, also supported by World Bank financing, and a full modernization of Les Cayes International Airport, funded through a partnership with the IDB.
Closing his presentation, Minister Pierre Louis underscored the long-term economic upside of investing in Haiti’s infrastructure transformation, extending a formal invitation to regional firms and international development partners to participate in upcoming public procurement processes for the announced projects.