THE Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is pushing contractors to complete within six to seven months a major Saudi-funded infrastructural project in Region Three that is expected to create more than 3,800 residential lots.
CH&PA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Martin Pertab and Director of Projects, Omar Narine, met with contractors on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of infrastructural works under the project, including developments along the Versailles-to-Parika Highway corridor.
The project represents an investment of approximately $9.1 billion in Region Three, covering infrastructural development, land preparation and the installation of utilities.
Pertab said the works have a contractual completion period of 10 months, but the CH&PA wants contractors to finish substantially earlier so that the new residential lots can be made available for construction as quickly as possible.
“We want to see the works completed within six to seven months,” Pertab said, emphasising the importance of meeting the accelerated timeline.
Region Three has been identified as a key area for the Government’s housing programme because of the availability of land and growing demand from prospective homeowners.
According to Pertab, the more than 3,800 lots expected to be developed under the project will help the CH&PA address the region’s nearly 10,000 pending housing applications.
The infrastructural programme is also expected to support the wider development of the region by opening additional lands for housing and improving connectivity along the Versailles-to-Parika corridor.
Narine urged contractors to mobilise promptly, maintain close coordination and ensure that construction standards are upheld throughout the project.
He also cautioned that contractors’ performance on the current works would be taken into consideration when future contracts are being awarded.
The meeting was also attended by CH&PA HSE Manager, Sunil Gopaul; Supervisory Engineer, Albert Narine; Project Engineer, Kenola Levans and supervisory consultants, PACE-SRKN.
The project forms part of Government’s broader efforts to expand housing infrastructure in Region Three and increase the supply of serviced residential land to meet demand.