– Over 280 young professional houses being built

CONSTRUCTION of over 280 homes for young professionals at the La Bonne Intention (LBI) housing scheme is already underway.
According to the Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, this initiative is just part of the constant striving to make home ownership a reality for all Guyanese and more so, stemming from these allocations is the creation of jobs, which is contributing to the growth of the economy.

“When we started back in office, we did have a focus more on the East Bank of Demerara, but because of us maximizing our land space there, we’ve had to shift the focus to the East Coast. So on the East Coast here, there are a number of constructions taking place,” the minister said, while highlighting the vast number of new housing areas that have been established and the plethora of allocation exercises that target the East Coast corridor.
To date, according to the Housing Minister, the new LBI housing scheme caters to approximately 327 houses, with 287 already being allocated.
With elevated houses being more in demand, he also disclosed that there were 119 elevated houses built and 19 flat houses.

More so, last week, with the employment of new contractors, the minister noted that this has aided them in allocating another 77 elevated houses.
“So all of these houses that you see here are all assigned,” he further disclosed.
Speaking more on the development occurring in LBI, he stated: “Now LBI will be one of the most prime housing schemes that you will find.”
With the rapid development taking place in and around LBI, Croal stated that soon it will be, what he perceives a little “town,” owing to the fact that commercial facilities such as malls and hotels will also be built.

In terms of infrastructure, the minister said that access to the scheme has already been completed and more so, street lights are in place. Therefore, even in the nights, trucks are traversing in and out of the scheme.
Furthermore, it was said that the scheme will interconnect with the road network that is being constructed on the East Coast.
According to the Housing Minister: “…Because of the size of this LBI scheme, already, we are on the game in terms of the other utility services. For the houses you see, the posts [are] already up, so it means by the time the houses are finished constructing, immediately they will have access to electricity,” adding that already electrification for the front of the scheme is ongoing.
He also touched on water services and referenced the construction of the new well at LBI, which is estimated to cost $126.8M.

“So it means before this year was finished, an independent well for LBI will be in operation,” the Housing Minister announced.
Moreover, the minister disclosed that after the visit, he will be identifying an area to start the commencement of the first 100 low-income homes and while not disclosing the other area as yet, there has also been an area set aside for the construction of middle-income houses.
With all sorts of homes being built for all Guyanese, Croal underscored: “So, if you notice the theme here is to cater for everyone.”

Over 1,500 homes are now under construction as part of the government’s turn-key project in areas such as LBI, Providence, Prospect, Great Diamond, Cummings Lodge, Hampshire/Williamsburg, Ordnance/Fortlands, and Amelia’s Ward.