St. Lucia - Hurricane Tomas Emergency Recovery Loan Project

Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB6241 Project Name Saint Lucia Hurricane Tomas Emergency Recovery Loan Region LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN Sector Roads and highways (40%); General education sector (20%); General water, sanitation and flood protection sector (15%); Health (15%); Central government administration (10%) Project ID P125205 Borrower(s) SAINT LUCIA Implementing Agency Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and National Development 3 rd Floor, Financial Center Bridge Street Castries Saint Lucia Tel: +1 758 468 5500 Email: ianthony@ gosl.gov.lc Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared January 28, 2011 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization December 13, 2010 Estimated Date of Board Approval March 3, 2011 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement Saint Lucia is a small island economy with relatively strong social indicators. Although it is a middle income country, in 2006 28% of the population was estimated to live below the locally defined poverty line, and in 2008 approximately 16.8 % of the population was unemployed. The island is mountainous of volcanic origin, with an area of 620 square km, 158 km of coastline, and an estimated population of 169,960 (2008). Saint Lucia is an open, tourism-based economy, with revenues based on balance of payments statistics amounting to 40% of the gross domestic product (GDP). An important issue confronting Saint Lucia