Israeli developer Atia Group Ltd. (LSE: ASTI; TASE: ATIA) estimates the initial construction cost of Haiti's New Hope City project at $35 million. Atia Group estimates its share of total $800 million-$1 billion project at $300 million.
The initial stage of New Hope City will include 1,000 homes, 500,000 square feet of storage space, a municipality, police station, fire station, schools, and commercial space. The project is planned to have 15,000 homes when completed.
Earlier this month, Atia Group signed a 60-day options agreement to buy a priority shares in the Haiti Recovery & Development Company, which is due to participate in the building of New Hope City as part of Haiti's rebuilding effort in the wake of January's earthquake.
Atia Group and Haiti Recovery & Development Company have submitted to the Haiti authorities a detailed proposal for the construction of homes, commercial space, roads, and utilities for New Hope City. The company said that the project could create 14,000 jobs.
Atia Group CFO Danny Offer said, "There's a sea of money waiting for projects. There's a lot of talk, but no action. People are living in tents, the hurricane season is approaching, and they have nowhere to sleep."
Israeli model and actress Moran Atias, a director of Atia Group and relative of its controlling shareholders CEO Yossi Atia and VP Shalom Atia, was a volunteer in Haita after the earthquake.
Atia Group owns and develops properties in the US and Croatia. Atia Group's share was unchanged in London at ₤0.55 today, giving a market cap of ₤7 million. The share was unchanged at NIS 0.66 on the TASE.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 24, 2010
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