New Orleans unveils Katrina recovery plan

By Russell McCulley

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans officials unveiled a $1.06 billion plan on Thursday to rebuild their city, saying they could no longer wait for federal aid 19 months after Hurricane Katrina.

The plan targets 17 "recovery zones" for commercial development, including hard hit areas such as the Lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans East.

They said the money would come from state funds and from the sale of bonds, and be spent on infrastructure repair and other projects with the hope of attracting private investment to spur new business.

Katrina struck on August 29, 2005, and caused 80 percent of the city to be flooded when it burst protective levees.

Much of New Orleans is still damaged and abandoned, which the city has blamed on the delayed arrival of federal aid.

But Mayor Ray Nagin said in a news conference that the city, which still has less than half its pre-Katrina population of nearly 500,000, can no longer wait for federal help.

"We're not sitting around waiting for anybody any longer," Nagin said in a news conference. "We're going to move this city forward with the resources that we can generate creatively, and everybody who wants to join us later, you're welcome to come on board."

Ed Blakely, who was hired this year to coordinate the city's recovery effort, said the plan must be approved by city residents, the New Orleans City Council and the City Planning Commission before officials begin negotiations with investors and developers later this summer.

"By September, we hope to have cranes on the skyline," Blakely said.