Housing Minister heads CH&PA delegation’s tour of Low/Middle income housing Project in Suriname

Georgetown, Guyana ( July 2, 2016) – A team headed by Minister with responsibility for the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Ms. Valerie Patterson on Tuesday and Wednesday visited neighboring Suriname, where they were given a firsthand look at a housing project in that country. Minister Patterson was accompanied by CH&PA Board Member, Mark Jacobs, CH&PA Chief Planner Rawle Edinboro, Pilot Coordinator of the Guyana Wastewater revolving Fund, Marlon Daniels, who is also a Water and Sanitation Specialist and Building Consultant Klensil Grenville.

This recent visit was a follow up to a proposal, which has been submitted to the Government of Guyana by (CDIG) Zhong Da International Engineering Company (Suriname) for a housing Project in Guyana. According to subject Minister Patterson, the proposal is for the construction of low and middle income homes, completed with water and sanitation systems.
During the visit, Minister Patterson said the team toured two locations where a total of five hundred and fifty homes were constructed by the company, in collaboration with the Suriname Government. “We were impressed with the quality of the homes, quality of materials that were used, soil preparation that was done, and the overall construction methodology,” Minister Patterson reported.
However in an effort to ensure that the same high quality work is brought to the local populace, the CH&PA will ensure that Quality Assurance Personnel are involved throughout every phase of this project. She noted that while the homes in Suriname are all flat houses with no elevation off the ground, given Guyana’s unique topography it has been recommended that the houses to be constructed locally be elevated at least three feet off the ground. Notably, the company’s engineers were very receptive to the suggestion and have since indicated their willingness to comply.
Further, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkhan has since been briefed on the trip, and has given his approval for what has been submitted by the CH&PA. With the drafting of a Draft Framework Agreement for the commencement of the project, the Perseverance Phases Three and Four Scheme has been identified as the most suitable scheme for this initiative. The Perseverance Scheme is the site where the Government’s Turn Key home Project is ongoing. To date a total of fifty nine homes have been completed, with another one hundred and forty one under construction. Initially, that project was touted as the ‘Perseverance 1000 homes’ Project, however another eight hundred homes are to be still constructed.
Meanwhile the Minister in her discussion with the General Manager of the Chinese Company, Mr. Wu Qiong, raised the issue of employment for Guyanese at every level of this project. Remarkably, the Company has assured that more than fifty percent of the workforce for the project will be Guyanese. In addition the Company will be offering training for locals once the project has started. A high level team from the Company is expected in Guyana on Tuesday to follow up on the discussion and to conduct a tour of the proposed site for the homes to be constructed.
Zhong Da International Engineering Company (Suriname) N.V was founded and registered in March 2000 and it constitutes the solely-funded enterprise of China Dalian International Cooperation Group, (CDIG). However the Parent Company CDIG has been in Suriname for over 17 years and its business covers, road construction, bridges, industrial and civil engineering. Zhong Da started its housing project in Suriname, which is one of the key projects used by the country’s government solves the problems of people’s livelihood. To date the company has completed a total of five hundred and fifty homes, over a period of forty months in two government housing settlement. They have been engaged in Project in Suriname for over 17 years and has a