The EC has approved a grant of just over $217 million or €1.9 million to assist the Government with the budgetary impact and infrastructure repairs brought on as a result of Tropical Storm Gustav last year.

Another grant

Another grant of $230 million or €2 million is to be allocated to projects designed to alleviate the suffering caused by the storm and its aftermath.

The first sum is being allocated through the EC's budget support programme direct to the consolidated fund.

It aims to reduce poverty and minimise the risks to Jamaica's economic reform process due to disaster-related expenditures.

In announcing the grants, head of the delegation of the European Commission in Jamaica, Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi Alemanni, described the release of the money as very timely, given the start of the hurricane season.

"The EU understands that it is almost impossible for any government to be fully prepared in the event of natural disasters. It is with that in mind that we have made it flexible … to reinforce the budget when the Government has to spend more than was expected due to unforeseen circumstances," Alemanni said.