1,000 receive houselots in La Reconnaissance
Woman Police Inspector, Haldah Giles pulls her lot number from a bag held by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal
Woman Police Inspector, Haldah Giles pulls her lot number from a bag held by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal

— $2.75 billion being spent on infrastructure works

ONE thousand house lots were, on Friday, distributed at the Fifth Dream Realised 2021 Housing Drive Event held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal said the allocation of the 1,000 houselots covered the period prior to 2015.
These allottees, he said, will become proud house lot owners in the new housing scheme to be developed, La Reconnaissance, which is on the Southern side of the new Railway Embankment behind the Annandale development.

“Region Four, as you know, holds the record for the largest backlog of applicants for low income housing, so this allocation exercise will help bring relief to families who have been on the wait list for many years. And, as we have been doing for all of our housing developments in the Dream Realised Campaign, that is, ensure that we do not just allocate house lots in an area but also and perhaps more importantly, strive to create communities where our citizens can thrive. La Reconnaissance will also boast of educational, social, health, safety and recreational facilities necessary for it to be a community by the time it is completed,” Minister Croal said.

He noted that more than 6,500 house lots and 2,000 titles were distributed since August 2020.
“And I am happy to declare that we are on track to distribute an additional 7,000 by the end of 2021, in keeping with our commitment of 50,000 allocations over this five year period,” he added.

A section of the gathering at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre

He continued: “Only a few days ago I was present at the symbolic pouring of concrete for the first set of homes that are being built under our tenure in Region 10. I am heartened that the project is underway. In the recent months, the Ministry of Housing and Water has worked tirelessly to make homeownership a reality for applicants who have been waiting for a significant time.”

PARTNERSHIPS
Simultaneously, Minister Croal said government has, within its first year in office, introduced interventions within the housing sector designed to rapidly increase the output by way of legislations and partnerships with the private sector.

These interventions, he explained range from increasing the low income thresh-hold from $8M to $10M as well as granting approval to the New Building Society-NBS to raise its loan ceiling to $15 million, thereby giving allottees more options for access to finance for the building of their homes.

“The transformation of Guyana’s housing sector is continuing apace. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has talked about the establishment of a new City along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway — Silica City — which will transform the national skyline and help mitigate the impacts of climate change on Georgetown.

The construction of the $2.3 billion Eccles to Mandela Highway is ongoing, and to complement this, you will see in the dailies advertisements inviting tenders for a new four lane road that that will continue from Eccles to Diamond and join the soon to be completed $500 million Diamond to Herstelling Road link,” he underscored.

The Ministry of Housing and Water/CHPA, he explained, has ongoing contracts to the tune of more than $18 billion for infrastructural works such as road networks, drainage and irrigation systems and electricity and water for 22 new and existing housing schemes in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six.

“Here on the East Coast, infrastructural works to the tune of $3.7M are ongoing in Cummings Lodge 1768 and 1767, LBI, Mon Repos, Annandale, Vigilance, Bladen Hall and Strathspey.

The 1,000 houselots were distributed at the Fifth Dream Realised 2021 Housing Drive held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre

We partnered with the IDB for the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme through which low income families in difficult circumstances can enjoy an improved quality of life either by the improvement of the infrastructure in their communities or directly through grants of up to $500,000 that they can use to improve their homes.

These interventions have already started in Sophia and La Parfaite Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara. And the Home Subsidy intervention will also be extended to applicants from the East Coast area,” Minister Croal explained.

The exercise, he said is not in isolation or is it for show. The housing sector in Guyana is being transformed under the steadfast leadership and vision of the government.

WATER SECTOR
In this regard, he said the water sector is also similarly undergoing accelerated development, the benefits of which will redound to the citizens of this country who deserve improvements in the supply of clean safe water.

Meanwhile, Minister Croal said GWI has begun the drilling of the new well at Lusignan which will replace the collapsed well within three months. This will help to improve service delivery to more than 12,000 users in Lusignan, Annandale and parts of Good Hope.

New wells, he said, are slated to be drilled in Providence and Diamond, East Bank Demerara before the end of the year; and the water networks in several other areas are being upgraded. When completed, some communities will be receiving potable water for the very first time.

Additionally, he noted that water treatment plants in Friendship, Mon Repos, Better Hope, Eccles, Covent Garden and Grove will be upgraded to increase the treated water coverage and improve levels of services in and around the surrounding areas.

“And here in the East Coast, distribution mains will be installed at Vey Vey, Unity, BV, Success and Montrose to Felicity. In total, interventions by GWI for Region Four for these works are expected to cost half a billion dollars. Still on the East Coast, infrastructural works which include the upgrade of existing access roads and bridges, unsurfaced roads, pipe networks and drains and culverts are ongoing.

New constructions of similar infrastructure to the tune of 4.3 billion are scheduled to come on stream by the end of the year in LBI and Annandale, this forms part of the 2022 budget for allocations done in 202,” he highlighted.

In significantly reducing the demand for affordable housing and delivering well developed communities too, Minister Croal said the cost of the lots that were handed out on Friday is heavily subsidised by the government and at a minimum of $200,000 per lot. Allottees will pay far below market prices for prime spots of land. And the cost for its infrastructural works is $2.75 billion.

“The investments made by our government into developing these communities are significant, and so I want to encourage those of you who will receive houselots and titles to houselots today, to talk with the banks present for financial guidance so that you can start building your homes as quickly as possible,” he added.

At the event there were several financial institutions while the GMSA was also at the event to share information on local building materials. Also, Massy Gas Products has a special gas cylinder and stove promotion for allottees.

Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues said government supports the most vulnerable communities and aims to transform them all in a positive manner.

“We want every Guyanese to be a part of the change and making land available to the population and reducing the backlog is essential,” she noted.
She explained that all of the banks are on board to help persons secure a loan for construction.

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