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Bloomberg
The US Virgin Islands expects to receive $800 million in emergency loans from the $36.5 billion storm aid bill approved by Congress earlier this month, Governor Kenneth Mapp said. The first draw down will occur over the next 10 to 15 days and will go towards rebuilding essential infrastructure such as hospitals and its water and power systems. The storm aid bill passed by Congress approved $4.9 billion of low interest loans for the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to meet immediate liquidity during initial recovery efforts.
The US Virgin Islands were devastated last month by two hurricanes that left thousands of residents without power and damaged its airports and hospitals.
Governor Mapp had requested a total of $5.5 billion from Congress in a letter to rebuild, of which he said $1.36 billion was needed for housing alone.
The damage to the tourist enclave has caused the price of some US Virgin Islands bonds to tumble amid speculation that it may worsen the financial pressure the government was already contending with. Bonds issued by its public finance authority that mature in 2025 and are backed by sales-tax revenue traded for about 45 cents on the dollar, down from 72 cents before the hurricanes struck.