–Minister Croal says

THE government’s aggressive push to expand housing access in hinterland regions continues to advance, with infrastructural works on the new Tract ‘A’ Housing Scheme in Mabaruma, Region One, now 45 per cent complete.

Minister of Housing, Collin Croal, said that the 17-acre development is on schedule to allow allottees to begin accessing their plots by mid-December, 2025.

The minister made these remarks during a recent site visit with Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley; Vice-Chairman, Paul Pierre; and Mayor of Mabaruma, Trevi Leung.

The government’s $110 million investment in the scheme covers critical first-phase infrastructural works including land clearing, the construction of access roads and drainage systems. The project is being executed in two lots, one of which is being managed by a local contractor, creating employment opportunities within the region.

Minister Croal emphasised that the works are essential to prepare the area for construction by the allottees.

“Before the year is finished, all the persons who have been allocated here will be able to commence construction for their own new home,” the minister stated.

Allottees in the new housing scheme will also qualify for assistance under the ministry’s Steel and Cement Housing Subsidy Programme, which provides building materials to support affordable home construction.

The establishment of the Tract ‘A’ housing scheme in the Mabaruma sub-district required land acquisition through the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), a necessary step given the limited availability of state lands within Mabaruma’s central area.

“Getting land within the Mabaruma central area is very difficult because the lands are owned by various persons and mostly private individuals, and so this was a portion we were able to get through the state,” Minister Croal explained.

Looking ahead, the ministry is set to continue its expansion across Region One in the Matarkai sub-district.

“Within another month, we’ll be on an outreach in Port Kaituma to commence the allocation exercise for the development of a new housing scheme there,” Minister Croal shared.

Apart from the establishment of these schemes, Region One also benefits from the government’s Hinterland Housing Programme, which sees the construction of homes for vulnerable Amerindian families across Guyana’s hinterland regions. (Central Housing and Planning Authority)