Private Sector “very impressed” with East Bank Housing Projects
–will be looking at opportunities for business

MINISTER of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali on Monday gave members of the private sector a tour of the East Bank Housing Development Projects, which are currently contributing to the development of this area.

The Housing Minister, along with a team from his ministry, took Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Ramesh Persaud, Vice-Chairman Edward Boyer, and Past President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce Clinton Urling, President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) Kit Nascimento, Annette Arjune and other stakeholders on the tour.
Speaking during the tour Minister Ali explained that the Eccles Scheme which was constructed under the young professionals home was all ‘jungle’ when it was conceptualised and started. “All the projects we will visit today, the land was all jungle and all this was achieved from 2010 to present,” Ali noted.

MORE THAN 300 JOBS
Ali said also that these housing projects not only assisted Guyanese to become home owners but also provided more than three hundred jobs for the neighbouring communities. He observed that during the construction phase the roads were not asphalted since due to large trucks and other machinery traversing the road, but now that the houses have been constructed and have more than 70% occupancy, the ministry is building new roads to give the occupants of these houses better accessibility to their homes.

The Eccles New Scheme turnkey project saw sixty houses being built and all have been allotted to young professionals.
“We are in partnership with the private sector and professional groups. The government would have put in the infrastructure; private capital would have assisted in the building of the homes,” Ali said. These projects have used Guyanese professionals at all levels of construction and consultations.

ANOTHER 200 HOMES
The Ministry, in 2015, is looking to have another 200 homes constructed at the same value, as there continues to be a growing demand. The present bungalow homes are constructed at a cost of $13M, with a bank value of $25M. The houses feature three bedrooms; a kitchen equipped with counters and cupboards; two-and-a-half baths; and room for expansion. The two-storey houses feature the same amenities, and cost $19.5M. The low to middle-income houses carry two bedrooms, and are estimated to cost between $4M to $8M.

CONTRACT
When posed with the question that “the houses are valued almost double the cost to construct, the lure to sell would be high, how is the Ministry dealing with this?” the Minister was quick to reply that there is a clause within the contract that stipulates that house owners cannot sell or transfer ownership until 10 years have passed.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), Ms Myrna Pitt, enlightened the members on the progress the projects are making. During the visit to the Eccles Scheme, Young Professionals Homes project, she related that all the houses have been allocated, and that home-owners are doing their own finishing touches. She emphasised that because the financial sector has reinvented itself, Guyanese are more able to become home owners since the interest rate for repayment on loans is only 4.25% per annum.
Taslim Baksh, Director of Finance at the CH&PA said in his overview of the project that at present within the scheme, there is almost 80% occupancy. He stated that $600M was invested by the private sector for this specific project.
“The young professional home project started in 2012 and was completed in August 2013. For this project approximately three hundred persons were employed with twelve contractors,” Baksh said.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector all underscored how impressed they were with the construction that is currently ongoing, the pace at which these houses are made available and also the roads that will be connecting the East Bank of Demerara to the East Coast of Demerara.
And they applauded the government not only for the initiative but the opportunities that have been created, and assured their support to assist in creating more opportunities through their sector.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS
Vice-Chairman of the PSC, Edward Boyer related that “we are all very impressed with what we saw here. I just wanted to say that we will bring back a technical team to look at these projects on a wider scale with a view to see how we can structure to become part of further development.” He added that the private sector will be collaborating mostly in terms of creating job opportunities in different areas.
Meanwhile Ramesh Persaud, Chairman of the PSC, thanked Minister Ali and his team for the tour. He said he was aware that there was construction taking place in these areas but was impressed with how much is actually going on. He too said, like Boyer, that “we will be looking at opportunities for business. There is a great amount of opportunities for business within these areas which can only have a positive impact on the country’s economy”.
Kit Nascimento in his comments declared that “it is the job of the government to house its people well. It’s one of the most important means of use of taxpayers’ money. And this is superb evidence that the Government carrying out its mandate.”

(By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)