CDBG-DR assigns $20.8M to San Juan for recovery works in the city
The Municipality of San Juan will receive $20.8 million from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-DR) City Revitalization Program for the restoration of infrastructure in areas still affected by the 2017 hurricanes.
The funding is part of a sub-recipient agreement signed between San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero-Lugo and Puerto Rico Housing Department Secretary William Rodríguez-Rodríguez, who said the program will support municipalities in this process and will provide “important budget allocations.”
“It’s vital for our administration that the money provided from the reconstruction of Puerto Rico helps implement the vision of the future in the communities affected by the passage of Hurricanes Irma and María,” he said.
According to the City Revitalization Program, the CDBG-DR funds will be delivered in three rounds. In this first round, a $4.2 million disbursement was approved for pre-construction works, the government officials said.
“These funds, which will be administered by the Municipal Housing Department, represent a substantial economic impact for the development of the capital city. We’re putting action where the word is,” Romero said.
“We will begin immediately with the works that will improve the quality of life of all San Juan residents. Our people need and deserve a safe infrastructure, but above all, a city that responds to their needs,” he added, welcoming the urgency of the local Housing Department and its secretary in establishing the agreements to allocate the funds given the town’s fiscal condition.
He said achieving this agreement within 30 days of taking office as mayor of the Puerto Rico’s capital city “is a privilege that he assumes with responsibility.”
“We’re facing an economic and structural situation that needs a lot of effort and without a doubt, this is the beginning [of a process] to rehabilitate areas that have been forgotten for years,” the municipal executive said.
