Construction of Core Homes at West Bank Demerara Moving Apace
The construction of some twenty-five (25) Core Homes under the Adequate Housing & Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP) is advancing on the West Bank of Demerara, Region Three.
The homes are currently being built in the communities of Lust-en-Rust, Onderneeming, La Parfaite Harmonie, Recht-Door-Zee and Westminister.
Works commenced on all twenty five (25) of the homes, with twenty one (21) houses between 50-100% completed. The core homes are no less than 400 square feet single-family homes with concrete blocks for the outer walls and floors, basic doors, windows, electrical wiring, water connections etc. Further, the homes are designed to meet basic standards that a family can move into and affordably expand over time. All beneficiaries are persons who possess ownership of the land and are required to pay an equity share contribution of $100,000. By February 2022 all works are expected to be completed.
The construction of these homes follow the inking of $65,138,832 in contracts last August between the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) and two contractors. The project, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), aims to assist vulnerable Guyanese, living in poor structures considered to be uninhabitable. Some $98,920,225 in contracts were also awarded under the second component of AHUAP – Home Improvement Subsidies. A Home Improvement Subsidy is a $500,000 grant in the form of building materials for repairs to walls, floors, electrical works and sanitation improvements, among others.
The agency has since reopened applications for both AHUAP components until February 7, 2022. The initiative encompasses Westminster, Onderneeming, Recht-Door-Zee, Lust en Rust, and Parfaite Harmonie Phase II on the West Bank of Demerara in Region Three. Meanwhile, in Region Four the boundary spans from Georgetown to Grove on the East Bank of Demerara; from Georgetown to La Bonne Intention (LBI) on the East Coast of Demerara and 19 other select communities from LBI to Hope. Application forms can be accessed free of cost at CH&PA offices, and all local authorities within the project boundary or online at chpa.gov.gy.
In addition to the Core Homes on the West Bank of Demerara, $867 million in infrastructure upgrades are also advancing, to improve the lives of residents, especially those who fall within the low-income bracket. These works include the upgrading of 9.14 kilometers of roads, construction of 49 reinforced concrete culverts, cleaning of 34.5 kilometers of earthen drains, construction of 2 meters of reinforced concrete drains and 0.5 meters in concrete sidewalks. This is also an IDB funded project. Six plantations under the La Parfaite Harmonie cluster are slated to benefit, namely: Schoonord, La Parfaite Harmonie, Westminister, Onderneeming, Rect-Door-Zee and Lust-en-Rust.