President Ali leads Cabinet outreach to Region 6
– announces 100 additional homes for residents
His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Monday, announced that government will be constructing an additional 100 housing units for residents of the East Berbice- Corentyne (Region Six).
The construction of the homes in Palmyra, is part of a massive development in that area, which will see the construction of a national stadium, international hotels, shopping malls, and private hospitals, among other major infrastructure. It will also add to the 100 homes under construction at Williamsburg/Hampshire on the Corentyne, by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) at a total cost of $750 million.
President Ali made the announcement during a community engagement at the drop-in centre at Smythfield, New Amsterdam. The meeting is part of a massive cabinet outreach across the region.
He is accompanied by Minister of Tourism Industry, Commerce, Oneidge Walrond and Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues.
President Ali said some 1,000 residents of Berbice benefited from employment opportunities through the turn-key project in the region. This number will increase as the government plans to expand the programme to meet the region’s housing demands.
Further, he said that approximately $1.5 billion in investments have already been made in the housing and water sector across the region.
These are the real programmes and policies. These are not fantasies. These are not illusions,” the head-of-state said, while outlining a number of other transformative initiatives planned for the region.
“These are the real investments that will help with the transformation of this region. Not only are we talking about the billions of dollars we are spending on community roads and the park that we are going to create in New Amsterdam, and the widening and resurfacing of the public road from New Amsterdam to Moleson Creek, and the expansion of it to open thousands of acres of lands for people to farm, you will have your own National Stadium and we are going to build a new urban entre.”
The initiative forms part of the government’s national housing programme which aims to provide 50,000 house lots by 2025 through land allocations, and the construction of homes for lower, middle-and moderate-income families, as well as young professionals.
Over 10,000 house lots have been distributed over the last year, with an additional 14,000 earmarked for this year. Further, close to 1000 turn-homes are underway with an additional 1000 low-cost units set to be constructed utilising local wood.