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US company wins contract to build Haiti prison

By WTOP Staff

CROIX-DES-BOUQUETS, Haiti (AP) — A construction company based in Maryland has received a U.S. government contract to build a prison in northern Haiti.

DFS Construction LLC of Annapolis, Maryland, has been awarded the $5.6 million contract by the State Department to build the prison in Fort Liberte. The State Department said Friday that construction is expected to begin in October and finish around April 2016.

The two-story prison is designed to hold about 300 inmates in a complex that includes an administration building and a one-story infirmary.

Haitian prisons have long been plagued by overcrowding, with prisoners often waiting years in pre-trial detention for their cases to be adjudicated. In August, 329 prisoners escaped from an overcrowded prison north of the capital in a mass breakout. Authorities have managed to recapture about 75.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Emergency guide: What you should do to prepare for emergencies

By WTOP Staff
WASHINGTON — Do you know what you'd do if an emergency hits? What if you're at work, your spouse is stuck in traffic and your children are in school? There's no way to plan for every emergency, but you can make sure you're prepared for different scenarios, including making a plan for your family and building a kit of emergency supplies.
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