VULNERABLE residents and pensioners of Smith Creek, Region One (Barima- Waini) will benefit from a new $13 million project to construct 10 wooden, elevated houses under the Ministry of Housing and Water’s Hinterland Housing Programme.

Three contracts for this project were inked on Saturday on the sidelines of a community outreach activity spearheaded by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal at the Mabaruma Learning and Resource Centre in Region One.

Each unit will consist of three bedrooms and measure approximately 20 by 25 feet. Importantly, vulnerable persons and pensioners identified by members of the community are being targetted to benefit from the housing project.

Minister Croal, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI), said the project is in fulfilment of a commitment made by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali when he visited the riverine community during an election campaign in 2019.

He noted that the initiative is part of a process to upgrade the environment in which the people of Smith Creek live. Beyond this project, he committed to improving the community’s access to water access so as to mitigate water-related health issues.

“We will seek to assist that area, or bring some semblance of relief to Smith Creek with the assistance of some houses to be constructed. The environment of Smith Creek cannot continue how it is, and, similarly, we will be making interventions to ensure that they have a proper source of water so that we can eliminate some health concerns,” Minister Croal stated.

Chairman of the Community Development Council (CDC), Sherman Lewis expressed satisfaction that the Irfaan Ali-led administration is honouring its commitment to the people of the community.

“They tell us that if they only go into power, they will transform that environment… and also build some houses,” Lewis said, adding: “Since they got into power, they will go towards it. And I had a meeting with engineers from the ministry that came in and looked at the place. So, the people really feel proud to know that the commitments and the promises will come to reality, and the majority of the community will be involved like in building the houses, cutting the material, so they will earn money.”

The implementation of the hinterland housing project will utilise a model similar to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded Sustainable Housing for the Hinterland Programme that was previously implemented by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

The programme was very successful in improving the living conditions of over 500 hinterland households in Regions One and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).