THE GOVERNMENT of Guyana, through the Ministry of Housing and Water, has made significant investments in the Sophia area over the years. The Ministry of Housing and Water, under the Central Housing and Planning Authority, has invested more than $832M in the Sophia areas. In 2004, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) had undertaken five major projects costing in excess of $566.7M:- Construction of roads, drains and structures in Farmer’s Field, Plum Park, Block “A”, Block “B”, and Block “C”, Sophia. Those projects saw services being given to in excess of 2,960 house lots, benefiting approximately more than 9,129 persons.
The year 2005 saw Section “D”, Sophia and Block “F, Sophia being upgraded with roads, drains and structures costing more than $51.2M. This investment serviced more than 510 house lots, benefiting more than 2,091 persons.
Moreover, in 2010, the Ministry of Housing and Water, under the CH&PA invested more than $214M for the construction of roads, drains and structures in Section “D”, Sophia and Area “R”, Sophia. This additional investment saw services being provided to more than 730 house lots, benefiting more than 2,990 persons.
These investments by the Central Housing and Planning Authority, totalling more than $832M in the Sophia area, saw benefits going to more than 14,210 persons and more than 4,200 house lots. This means that the government would have invested more than $198,095 for every household in the above areas in Sophia. Taken further, it means that the government would have invested more than $58,550 for every individual living in these areas.
In two weeks’ time, the Housing Ministry will be tendering a contract for upgrade of the main access road in Block “F”, Sophia, which will be upgraded to asphalted concrete and carries an engineer’s estimate of $20M.
Sophia has 11 squatting areas, and under the Settlements Regularisation & Upgrading Department of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, 10 of those areas are being regularised. There is a total of 5,358 lots in the areas under regularisation, of which 5,010 or 93.5% of the lots have been regularised. However, only about 60% of the titles for the 5,010 lots have been processed so far. This low percentage of processed titles is a result of the allottees not completing payments so that the process could move forward. To date, there remain 448 lots to be regularised in the Sophia area.
For the remaining area to be regularised, Block “S” Sophia, a “block and occupational survey” was done in 2001. There are approximately 100 households in Block “S”, Sophia. This area was not regularised because it is very low and floods easily. Moreover, the cost of the infrastructural development would be very high, according to engineers who visited the site. Further, if a decision were made to regularise the area, approximately 40 persons would have to be relocated in order to create access. Some residents have indicated their willingness to be relocated.
The Ministry of Housing and Water, under the Guyana Water Incorporated, has invested more than $400M  within the Sophia service area. The major interventions within the project area include the construction of a new, state-of-the-art Iron Removal Water Treatment Plant at Sophia; the construction of a new water well at Cummings Lodge; and service connection upgrades and metering in Sophia (Farmers’ Field, Plum Park and Blocks A-D). The objective outcome of these interventions is the improvement of quality and level of service offered to more than 30,000 residents. To date, the pipe laying, distribution upgrade, and service connection installation is 60% completed, and full completion is expected to be in June this year.
The new Sophia Water Treatment Plant, which was commissioned in 2011, is a state-of-the-art facility which comprises modern, energy-efficient, gravity-type water treatment technology. This plant utilises a sodium hypochlorite generation system which aids in the chlorine purification process. It is complemented by aerators and lime-dosing systems which aid in the adjustment of concentration ions (acidity and alkaline) content, oxidation tanks that facilitate the removal of iron via filtration and backwash lagoons. This new facility successfully serves the population in and around Sophia:- “A” Field, “B” Field, Bel Air and Prashad Nagar.
The new water well in Cummings Lodge, which was commissioned in October 2011, effectively serves residents in Fields “E” to “C”, Sophia, while the ongoing service connection upgrades and metering programme are geared to strengthen and consolidate existing service connections, effectively reducing non-revenue water while boosting  service levels.
The Guyana Water Incorporated’s total intervention within Sophia equates to a per capita investment of $14,000.
Cumulatively, the Central Housing and Planning Authority and the Guyana Water Authority, which together make up the Ministry of Housing and Water, have invested more than $1.23B in the Sophia areas.