$
Report No: RES00723
RESTRUCTURING PAPER
ON A
PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING
OF
HOUSING RECOVERY PROJECT
APPROVED ON 13-Apr-2018
TO THE
COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA
Urban, Resilience and Land Global Practice
Latin America And Caribbean Region
Regional Vice President: Carlos Felipe Jaramillo
Regional Director: Maria Marcela Silva
Country Director: Lilia Burunciuc
Practice Manager: Federica Ranghieri
Task Team Leader(s): Artessa Saldivar-Sali, Giuliana De Mendiola
Ramirez
The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
CERC Contingent Emergency Response Component
CSU Central Service Unit
GEMS Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision
GoCD Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica
IDA International Development Association
ISR Implementation Status and Results Report
LISP Livelihood and Income Support Program
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
PDO Project Development Objective
PIU Project Implementation Unit
RFA Reimbursable Financial Assistance
SDR Special Drawing Rights
TAC Technical Assistance Centers
XC$ Eastern Caribbean Dollar
The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
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BASIC DATA
Product Information
Operation ID Operation Name
P166537 Housing Recovery Project
Product/Financing Instrument Geographical Identifier
Investment Project Financing (IPF) Dominica
Approval Date Current Closing Date
13-Apr-2018 30-Jun-2025
Original EA Category
Partial Assessment (B) (PAD Approval Package-13 Apr 2018)
Organizations
Borrower Responsible Agency
Central Service Unit, Dominica Agricultural Industrial &
Commonwealth of Dominica Development Bank, Dominica Social Security, Ministry of
Housing and Urban Development
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OPERATION STATUS
Project Development Objective (DO)
Current Development Objective
The Project Development Objectives (PDOs) are to: to contribute to the recovery of housing for households affected by
Hurricane Maria, to improve the application of resilient building practices in the Recipient’s housing sector, and to
provide immediate and effective response to an Eligible Emergency Crisis or Emergency
Disbursement Summary (in USD million)
Source of Funds Net Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed
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The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
IBRD -- -- -- 0
IDA 36.38 33.79 4.58 88.06
Grants -- -- -- 0
Policy Waivers
Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy
waiver(s)? No
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The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING ........................................................................................1
II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES ....................................................................................................................4
III. PROPOSED CHANGES ................................................................................................................................................4
IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) ...............................................................................................................................................5
The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING
1. This Restructuring Paper seeks the approval of the Country Director for a Level 2 restructuring of the Dominica Housing
Recovery Project to cancel the undisbursed amount of IDA Credit No. 62320-DM in the amount of SDR 3,806,399.57
(US$5,000,467.11). This is in response to the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica’s (GOCD) letters to the
World Bank dated: (i) January 30, 2025, received by the Bank on February 5, 2025, and (ii) February 21, 2025,
requesting the cancellation of proceeds from the afore-mentioned Credit. This is the fourth restructuring of the
Project.
A. Project Status
2. The Project was approved on April 13, 2018, and became effective on August 7, 2018. The Project’s total financing at
approval was US$40 million equivalent, which included: (i) an IDA Credit 6232-DM in the amount of XDR 7 million
(US$10 million equivalent) and (ii) an IDA Grant D3070-DM in the amount of SDR 20.8 million (US$30 million
equivalent). Eighty-three percent (US$31.93 million) of the total commitment amount has been disbursed. The Project
closing date is June 30, 2025.
3. The Project Development Objectives (PDOs) are: to contribute to the recovery of housing for households affected by
Hurricane Maria, to improve the application of resilient building practices in the Recipient’s housing sector, and to
provide immediate and effective response to an Eligible Emergency Crisis or Emergency. The Project comprises four
components: (i) Support for Housing Recovery Systems and Capacity Building (US$2.7 million); (ii) Support for
Reconstruction of Houses (US$27.46 million); (iii) Project Management and Coordination (US$3.8 million); and (iv)
Contingent Emergency Response (US$6.04 million).
4. Previous restructurings.
a. First Level 2 restructuring (approved on May 15, 2020). The changes included: (i) increasing the house size from 300
square feet to 540 square feet and thus increasing the housing grant from XC$50,000 to up to XC$125,000. This
reduced the total number of houses from 1,700 to 676; (ii) modifying the institutional arrangements to ensure
consistency between the financing agreement and the Project Appraisal Document (PAD); (iii) adding a Contingent
Emergency Response Component (CERC) to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic; and (iv) modifying the
implementation arrangements to include the CERC.
b. Second Level 2 restructuring (approved August 12, 2021), in response to the activation of the CERC in May 2020.
The changes included: (i) adjusting of the PDO to reflect the activation of the CERC; (ii) reallocating US$7.43 million
(XDR 5.32 million) from Component 2 (housing grants) to the CERC activities, which further reduced the total
number of houses from 676 to 420; and (iii) adjusting the results framework to reflect changes in components.
c. Third Level 2 restructuring (approved July 20, 2023). The changes included: (i) revising the amount of the housing
grants for the subprojects, (ii) extending the closing date of the IDA financing (IDA-62320 and IDA-D3070) by 18
months from December 29, 2023 to June 30, 2025, (iii) canceling Subcomponent 1.3, (iv) reallocating funds across
components and disbursement categories to cover the operating expenditures for the project extension and an
increase in the housing grant, (v) modifying the implementation arrangements to include the GoCD’s newly
established Central Services Unit (CSU) as an implementing agency, and (vi) updating the Results Framework.
5. Progress towards achievement of the PDO is Moderately Satisfactory as of the Implementation Status and Results (ISR)
Report of December 2024. Table 1 shows the status of the PDO indicators.
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The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
Table 1. Status of PDO Indicators
Recovery of housing for households affected by Hurricane Maria
Baseline Actual (Current) Closing Period
PDO Indicator
Value Month/Year Value Date Value Month/Year
Direct project beneficiaries (Number) 0.00 Feb 2018 7,870.00 30- 8,720.00 Jun 2025
- housing reconstruction, recipients of Oct-
services from the Technical Assistance Female: 48% 2024 Female:
Centers (TAC), beneficiaries of the CERC 48%
programs.
0.00 Feb 2018 309.00 30- 420.00 Jun 2025
(376 practical Oct-
Number of households with resilient
completions 2024
housing recovered using project
expected)
subsidies
- Reconstructed houses with certified
Female-headed: Female-
practical completions
33 headed: 35
Improve the application of resilient building practices in the housing sector
Number of households that accessed 0.00 Feb 2018 699.00 30- 600.00 Jun 2025
general advice service from TAC and Oct-
benefit from streamlined permitting Female-headed: 2024 Female-
process (Exceeded) 37 headed: 35
Financial assistance provided to individuals and small businesses affected by COVID 19 (Closed)
0.00 Aug 2020 3,454.00 Apr- 4,000.00 Jun 2021
- Number of employees and self-
2022
employed receiving income support
Female: 53% Female:
(Substantially met)
50%
0.00 Aug 2020 2,713.00 Apr- 2,700.00 Jun 2021
- Number of senior citizens over 70 years 2022
receiving pension support (Exceeded) Female: 46% Female:
50%
0.00 Jun 2021 662.00 Apr- 400.00 Dec 2021
- Number of businesses receiving 2022
reimbursable financial assistance Women-owned: Women-
(Exceeded) 52% owned:
65%
6. The Overall Implementation Progress rating was upgraded from Moderately Unsatisfactory to Moderately Satisfactory in
December 2024, as important progress was made on critical issues since the last reporting period. The three Components
of the project are rated Moderately Satisfactory for performance, while the CERC is rated Satisfactory. Of the 420 houses
to be built: 391 tenders have been issued; 376 contracts have been signed, and 309 houses have achieved practical
completion. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) have been
actively pursuing resolution of critical implementation constraints, including: (i) land tenure issues that have
prevented houses from being granted planning permits (affecting 26 beneficiaries as of January 2025), (ii) increased cost
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The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
of building materials and material shortages, (iii) difficult access to some sites, and (iv) inadequate contractor capacity.
Table 2 summarizes the current status of implementation.
Table 2. Implementation Status by Component
Component Subcomponent Status
1 - Support for 1.1 Development Planning Support to Technical Ongoing - one TAC (serving the
Housing Recovery Assistance Centers and the Project Kalinago Territory) is operational
and Capacity at the Local Level and continues to support Project
Building beneficiaries with construction and
supervision support
1.2 Development of Management Information Completed – the Geo-Enabling
Systems, to Support Planning and initiative for Monitoring and
Monitoring Processes in Project Agencies Supervision (GEMS) system is
operational and being used to support
supervision of construction activities
and the Environmental and Social
Management Plan.
2 – Support for 2.1 Support for Reconstruction of Houses 309 achieved Practical Completion
Reconstruction of 2.2 Design and Supervision of House Reconstruction 358 under Supervision or Completed
Houses
3 – Project Project management, monitoring, end-of-project Ongoing
Management and evaluation, operating costs
Coordination
4 – Contingent This component financed two programs in response to Completed
Emergency the COVID-19 pandemic: (i) livelihood and income
Response (activated support program (LISP), which disbursed US$4.3
on May 20, 2020) million and provided income support to 3,454
employed and self-employed beneficiaries and pension
support to 2,713 people over 70, and (ii) reimbursable
financial assistance (RFA), which disbursed US$1.7
million and reached 662 beneficiaries, of which 392
were women-headed businesses.
7. In the same reporting period, procurement performance is rated Moderately Satisfactory. Performance of Financial
Management was upgraded to Satisfactory and residual risk was upgraded to Moderate. The PIU is committed to
continued strengthening of the internal control environment, timely submission of financial reports, and addressing
land tenure issues to avoid declaring grants paid to 14 beneficiaries as ineligible expenditures.
8. Ineligible expenditures. In its Management Letter dated June 12, 2024, the World Bank noted that Housing Grants had
been extended to 16 beneficiaries whose houses were constructed without approval from the Physical Planning Department
and without proof of property ownership or permission to occupy the property. The expenditures for these cases totaled
XC$1,806,707. A deadline of September 30, 2024 was set for the GoCD to resolve these issues to prevent the expenditures
from being deemed ineligible. In a letter dated September 26, 2024, the GoCD indicated that of these 16 cases, 10 were
deemed resolvable through legal channels, whilst 6 were deemed unlikely to be resolved due to complexities ranging
from hazardous site conditions to family land disputes. In an effort to resolve these challenges, the Ministry of Housing
and Urban Development has retained the services of the Legal Aid Clinic, to provide legal assistance to 10 of the
associated beneficiaries such that their land tenure irregularities can be resolved. The GoCD likewise requested a 90-
day extension to resolve the issues, and the World Bank agreed to grant the requested extension of the deadline to
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Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
December 31, 2024. The next steps to resolve the cases were presented by the GoCD at the Country Portfolio
Performance Review held from February 18 – 21, 2025.
9. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The rating for M&E was rated Moderately Unsatisfactory in the same reporting
period due to delays in the submission of Project Reports after the end of each calendar semester. These delays are
primarily due to the lack of an M&E specialist within both the CSU and the PIU. Despite these challenges, the overdue
Project Reports were submitted on February 11, 2025, and the M&E rating is expected to be upgraded to Moderately
Satisfactory in the next reporting period.
10. Environmental & Social (E&S): E&S performance for the reporting period is Moderately Satisfactory. The project is
served by a functional Grievance Redressal mechanism that has successfully resolved 241 of 251 grievances registered
to date.
11. Audit Compliance. There are no overdue audits and no unresolved audit observations.
B. Rationale for Restructuring
12. The GoCD request for cancellation is based on a work plan and budget review that identified that, due to the
implementation challenges primarily related to land tenure issues, the remaining Project implementation period is
insufficient to commit the undisbursed balance under Category 2 of IDA Credit 6232-DM and complete the target
number of resilient houses to be reconstructed.
13. The Recipient and the Bank have agreed on an updated program of works (all construction to commence no later than
February 15, 2025) to maximize the final number of houses to be reconstructed (estimated at 376). The PIU is closely
collaborating with contractors, and contract management is robust. The PIU works in close collaboration with the CSU.
II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES
14. Loan Cancellation. This restructuring is proposed to effect cancellation of SDR 3,806,399.57 (US$5,000,467.11
equivalent) under Category 2 of IDA Credit 6232-DM under Section III. A of Schedule 2 to the Financing Agreement.
Details of the category-wise cancellation are provided in Section IV of the Datasheet of this Restructuring Paper.
15. The disbursement estimate will be adjusted in accordance with the proposed cancellation.
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Summary changes
III. PROPOSED CHANGES
Operation Information Proposed Changes Operation Information Proposed Changes
Disbursements Estimates Yes Loan Cancellations Yes
Development Objective No Reallocations Yes
Safeguard Policies Triggered No Loan Closing Date Extension No
ISDS No Financial Management No
MFD/PCE No Procurement No
Results No Institutional Arrangement No
Risks No Implementation Schedule No
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Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
Legal Covenants No
Conditions No
Implementation Modalities No
Disbursements Arrangements No
DDO No
Clients No
Appraisal Summary No
Components No
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IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S)
COSTS & FINANCING
Private Capital Facilitation
Is this an MFD-Enabling Project (MFD-EP)?
Is this project Private Capital Enabling (PCE)?
LOANS
Cancellations
Reason
Value
Loan/Credit/ Current Cancellation New for
Status Currency Date of
Trust Fund Amount Amount Amount Cancellati
Cancellation
on
BORROWE
R'S
IDA-62320- Disbursi REQUEST
XDR 7,000,000.00 3,806,399.57 25-Feb-2025 3,193,600.43
001 ng FOR
COUNTRY
REASONS
IDA-D3070- Disbursi 20,800,000.0
XDR 0.00 20,800,000.00
001 ng 0
Reallocations
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The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
IDA-62320-001 Cancellations (if any): New Allocation:
Currency: XDR
3,806,399.57 3,193,600.43
Financing %
(Type Total)
Category Expenditure Current Actuals + Proposed
No. Category Allocation Committed Allocation Current Proposed
1 GO,CW,NCS,CS,OP&T 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 100.00
R for the Project.;
2 Housing Grants for 7,000,000.00 3,193,600.43 3,193,600.43 100.00 100.00
Subprojects;
3 Emergency 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 100.00
expenditures under
Part 4;
4 Eligible Expenditures 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 100.00
for the CERP;
5 Complementary 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 100.00
Financing Cat DDO;
Total 7,000,000.00 3,193,600.43
IDA-D3070-001 Cancellations (if any): New Allocation:
Currency: XDR
0.00 20,800,000.00
Financing %
(Type Total)
Category Expenditure Current Actuals + Proposed
No. Category Allocation Committed Allocation Current Proposed
1 GO,CW,NCS,CS,OP&T 6,800,000.00 5,193,290.75 6,800,000.00 100.00 100.00
R for the Project.;
2 Housing Grants for 9,623,820.79 6,369,349.59 9,623,820.79 100.00 100.00
Subprojects;
3 Emergency 4,376,179.21 4,376,179.21 4,376,179.21 100.00 100.00
Expenditures under
CERC;
4 Eligible Expenditures 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 100.00
for the CERP;
5 Complementary 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 100.00
Financing Cat DDO;
Total 20,800,000.00 20,800,000.00
DISBURSEMENTS
Operation Dates & Projection Details
Reasons to change the full Disbursement date and/or the projection
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The World Bank
Housing Recovery Project (P166537)
Restructuring
Implementation Start Date Operation Closing Date
13-Apr-2018 30-Jun-2025
Projected Date for Full Disbursement
01-Nov-2025
Expected Disbursements (in US $) (Absolute)
Original Estimation at Preparation Actual
Year Revised Estimation
(Approval Package – 13 Apr 2018)
FY2018 52,500.00 0.00 0.00
FY2019 6,999,999.99 1,575,000.00 1,575,000.00
FY2020 10,500,000.00 2,371,971.00 2,371,972.80
FY2021 5,600,000.01 13,447,742.00 5,947,743.68
FY2022 2,799,999.99 14,524,220.00 22,024,221.52
FY2023 2,030,000.01 12,750.00 12,750.00
FY2024 0.00 917,546.00 0.00
FY2025 0.00 5,917,546.00 1,860,000.00
FY2026 0.00 1,233,225.00 0.00
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