Scot's 'symbol of hope' rises from ashes of Haiti

• The burning, twisted wreck of the market's main tower after the earthquake, but it is now due to reopen. Picture: Getty Images

John McAslan's firm, JMP, has restored the Iron Market, which will reopen tomorrow for the first time since disaster struck in the capital Port-au-Prince.

It was asked to participate in the reconstruction project by former US president Bill Clinton, who had seen its work in Malawi, where the firm designed a cheap and easy-to-build school.

Mr McAslan, who was raised in Dunoon, Argyll, described the market as a "symbol of hope", and said it had been vital to complete within a year of the earthquake, which destroyed much of the nation's infrastructure and left 230,000 dead.

The Iron Market, which was partially destroyed by the earthquake, is one of the most important social and economic buildings in the centre of the Haitian capital. Hundreds of jobs are expected to be generated from its completion, as local producers begin trading again.

JMP's work has restored the damaged south market and central tower and repaired the north market, which was burned down in 2008. The market will be enhanced and there are now plans to extend it.

The structure is an example of the late 19th-century, European "flat-pack" approach to creating colonial architecture, and for 120 years, it served as the focus of commercial life in Port-au-Prince.

Built from individual cast and wrought iron components shipped to Haiti from Europe, the market features a clock tower that displays clear Islamic influences. The central tower is flanked by market areas to the north and south, which were used for selling hand-made goods and food.

Speaking last year about rebuilding the country, Mr McAslan said: "I have a great love for Haiti and was impressed by the people there. Their strength and resilience in the face of this disaster is humbling.

"It (the damage] is unimaginable in scale. A third of homes have been destroyed. You have three quarters of a million children with no school. There are areas with no hospitals, no government buildings, nothing."

JMP worked where possible with local tradespeople to help the Haitian labour force develop skills, as well as using local artists to decorate the metalwork on the new north market.

The project has been funded by Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien of Digicel, one of Haiti's largest employers.Filmmaker Patrick Forbes who made a documentary about the project, said: "It is the only reconstruction anyone is doing. When I first went to Haiti, I thought, 'Where are all the JCBs? Where's the rebuilding?' There was none. Only O'Brien's project. Apart from that, just all these guys clearing rocks."

The earthquake, on 12 January, 2010, led to billions of pounds being pledged to rebuild the country, as well as thousands of aid groups and missions.

It is hoped that reopening the market will be seen as a major symbol of progress.

Twelve months after 313,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 1.5 million people left homeless, 87 per cent are still living in tented camps.

A total of 3,300 have died from cholera, which began sweeping the capital late last year.

In a report due out today, the charity ActionAid says: "There is an overwhelming sense that Haiti is drifting. People are surviving, but survival is not enough; we also have to rebuild.

"There is no sense of urgency among the Haitian leadership and there is little progress on reconstruction, with hundreds of thousands of people stuck in limbo."

Cairo's lost station

The March en Fer (Iron Market) was built in 1889 to be used as a train station in Cairo. When the deal fell through, it was bought by Haiti as part of a plan to modernise Port-au-Prince.

It is made up of the distinctive gates and two 35ft-high enclosed spaces, each covering 20,000sq ft. Throughout its history, it has been one of the country's major visitor destinations, and a site of political protests and celebrations.