Govt’s Housing Units in Prospect for December completion

The Ministry of Housing and Water has commenced the construction of low-income and young professional homes in Prospect, East Bank Demerara, as part of the PPP/C Government’s plan to provide sustainable, affordable housing to all Guyanese.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, MP, on Thursday, inspected the ongoing works on the 100 low-income and 200 young professional flat and elevated units.

Fifty of the 100 low-income units are currently under construction. The 600 square feet 2-bedroom homes cost some $5.5 million each, with the land valued at $300,000.

Minister Croal said work on the first 50 homes commenced two months ago and is expected to be competed in December. Mobilisation on the remaining 50 low-income units is expected to commence shortly.

“Sometimes people think all we do have to do with allocation but this is also part of our fast-track mechanism for a person to own their own home through the mechanism we have at the ministry,” he said.

Once the houses are completed, pre-qualified persons will be able to access the homes, Minister Croal explained.

“The beneficiaries for this are persons who have been pre-qualified, they come from within the system they have indicated their interest in terms of the housing programme and we submit that information to the bank, the bank does their due diligence and once they are pre-qualified, they become part of the list for the beneficiaries for the houses,” Minister Croal stated.

Under that project, an estimated five persons are employed per each unit. This translates to about 250 persons being employed under the first phase of the project

Meanwhile, the foundations are currently being laid for the construction of the 200 young professional homes. A total of 11 contractors were awarded contracts for that project.

The units will consist of three bedrooms including one self-contained room, valued $13.9 million inclusive of the land for $1 million.

“We are also happy with the progress they have just started so you can see they are working on the foundation but the timeline we are looking for them to complete is January of the new year.”

To date, approximately $1 billion has been spent for first phase infrastructure which includes, drainage, water and electrical network in the Prospect area.

Meanwhile, the minister visited works ongoing on the $95 million steel and concrete composite bridge at Mocha which will mark the completion of the new Great Diamond-Herstelling Road and will provide an alternative route for commuters between Eccles and Diamond.