THE 1,000 homes turnkey housing project in Perseverance on the East Bank of Demerara is slated to be fully completed by mid-2015, Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali said as he also disclosed that some 12,000 have been allocated for 2014.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Ali said his ministry has been working tirelessly to provide “affordable housing for all” which is also the ministry’s theme.
He noted that for 2014, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has already distributed some 12,000 house lots and this includes all the new areas for the year.

HOUSING SOLUTIONS
Ali explained that the ministry is always looking for new ways to diversify and enhance housing solutions in Guyana.

“We hope that we can further enhance our housing solutions by having our Perseverance Scheme, our 1,000 homes project completed fully by mid next year with approximately 100 homes already under construction and being allocated,” the Housing Minister said.

BUTTERCUP COTTAGES
In June of 2013, the ministry launched the Perseverance 1,000 turnkey homes and on May 19 the first batch of 50 houses started to be constructed. The cost for a completed house is $4.9M (the house costs $4.4M and the land costs $500,000). Known as the Buttercup Cottages, they are two-bedroom flat houses equipped with toilet and bath, kitchen and living area. The ministry will be providing water and electricity for the homes and has also modernised the houses with sealed rooms and sash-windows.
Meanwhile, the Young Professionals Home project in Eccles has almost 80% occupancy where $600M was invested by the private sector for this specific project. The young professionals home project started in 2012 and was completed in August 2013. All the houses for the project have been allocated and homeowners are doing their own finishing touches to their houses.
The Housing Minister explained that the young professionals project is one that is in very high demand since it enables our working population to have a ‘walk in ready home’. He noted also that because of the high demand “we have to find new solutions in terms of land availability and development of a new urban stretch” to embark on other projects.

NEW URBAN AREA
He noted that the Government has invested $12B in the last four years to have housing development along the East Bank and this includes the roads, water supply and electricity.
Ali explained too that “along the East Bank we are in our final stages of land acquisition and development and this will require us to look at a new urban area that would bring a holistic solution.”

(Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)