–new lands opened up by Mandela-Eccles Highway to be used for government offices, commercial purposes

THE Ministry of Housing and Water has started developing 5,000 new house lots in communities along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) corridor, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves.

Those lands, which will soon be available for allocation, are in Little Diamond, Great Diamond and Prospect.

Greaves’ comment followed a recent announcement by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, that 5,000 new house lots will be available along the EBD.

Minister Croal, who was at the time addressing persons gathered for the commissioning of the $2.3 billion Mandela-Eccles Four-Lane Highway, said: “The acquisition of new lands and the execution of critical infrastructural projects will pave the way for the allocation of a minimum of 5,000 new house lots in 2022 on the East Bank corridor.”

This is in addition to the spinoff benefits of the new four-lane highway, which, according to Greaves will be used for government offices and commercial purposes.

In 2021, Minister Croal had said that the government intends to expend close to $28 billion in 2022 for infrastructural works in a number of housing schemes along the EBD.

Some of those works will be done in Golden Grove, Little Diamond and Great Diamond.

According to Minister Croal, the intended expenditure will also cover the construction of the new Eccles to Great Diamond four-lane highway.

On a broader level, Minister Croal had told the Guyana Chronicle that for 2021, more than $14 billion was being spent to develop some 22 housing schemes across the country.

The initial infrastructural works included the construction, and, in some cases, the rehabilitation of roads, bridges and drainage infrastructure, as well as the installation of facilities to accommodate utility services such as water and electricity.

This was done to ensure that all new and upcoming housing schemes are accessible and outfitted with the requisite amenities for new land owners to commence construction of their homes.

It was noted that over the past couple of years, although house lots were distributed, lack of preparatory works prevented new landowners from moving forward with construction of their homes, largely owing to the inaccessibility of many of the schemes.

Access to adequate housing has long been viewed as a basic human right, and is considered an integral factor for the enjoyment of other economic, social and cultural rights. And, with Guyana’s economy poised to quadruple in the coming years, the government has started establishing the conditions for Guyanese, especially from the low and middle-income brackets, to have access to adequate housing.