– 3,000 to 5,000 homes planned for vulnerable Guyanese
– More than 270 private developers express interest in housing construction

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali on Thursday outlined plans for a new social housing programme that will provide between 3,000 and 5,000 homes for vulnerable Guyanese.
As part of the wider housing push, he disclosed that the government has already received more than 270 expressions of interest from private developers to help accelerate home construction across the country.
The initiative forms part of the administration’s broader strategy to shift its focus from distributing house lots to expanding homeownership, with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) committing to construct 40,000 housing units during its second term in office.
According to the President, the social housing programme will target economically challenged single mothers, persons living with disabilities and elderly citizens who face barriers to owning a home.
“We’re going to identify highly vulnerable persons within our society: single mothers—particularly those facing specific economic challenges—people living with disabilities, the elderly, and we’re going to have a social housing programme to support home ownership, to support them,” Dr. Ali said.
He said strict eligibility requirements will be established to ensure assistance reaches those most in need.
Dr. Ali explained, “We’ll be setting up strict criteria for persons to have access to those homes because we want… not only to make home ownership easier, but to empower people to bring dignity to every single Guyanese family in where they live, how they live, and the circumstances surrounding their living condition.”
The President explained that the programme represents the next phase of the government’s housing policy.
While the administration has surpassed its manifesto commitment to allocate 50,000 house lots since returning to office in 2020, he said the emphasis is now on ensuring more Guyanese have access to completed homes.
“We are shifting our attention to home ownership. How do we enable persons to construct their homes? How do we address the issue of social housing? We know that social housing is an important part of the housing strategy,” he said.
The social housing initiative is expected to become a key component of that strategy by assisting vulnerable citizens who may not have the financial means to build homes of their own, even after receiving land allocations.
President Ali said the programme will be rolled out soon, noting that the government is finalising the eligibility framework that will determine who qualifies for assistance.
President Ali said the social housing initiative will complement the government’s commitment to construct 40,000 housing units before the next general election.
He stated, “In the 2025 manifesto, the PPP/C government promised to construct 40,000 housing units, not only now delivering lots but actually constructing 40,000 housing units by the time we get up to the next elections.”
To help achieve that target, the government has turned to the private sector, receiving more than 270 expressions of interest from companies seeking to participate in the national housing programme.
“We’ve received more than 270 expressions of interest to construct housing units and these are from varied prices. This expression of interest was to help us to accelerate the development of areas and the construction of homes simultaneously to satisfy the growing demand,” he disclosed.
The President said the overwhelming response reflects growing demand for government-supported housing solutions.
“What we have seen is that there is tremendous interest from the public in our housing solutions, whether it’s young professional, the turnkey, the hinterland housing programme, the homestead programme, the modular homes that we are building,” Dr. Ali noted.
He revealed that demand now extends beyond the government’s commitment to construct 40,000 homes.
“So, we are seeing, in addition to the 40,000 units that we have to build, an increase in demand for the homes that the ministry is constructing,” he said.
He attributed the growing demand to the Ministry of Housing’s ability to achieve economies of scale while relieving prospective homeowners of the burden of managing contractors and overseeing construction projects.
“And that is because the ministry is able to achieve economies of scale and also the issue of managing contractors and managing construction. Many persons do not have the time to do that,” he explained.
The Guyanese leader said the government subsequently invited expressions of interest from private companies to accelerate housing construction across the country.
According to him, private sector participation will allow the government to develop housing areas and construct homes simultaneously to keep pace with growing demand.
While he did not identify the companies that submitted proposals or indicate how many would ultimately be selected, Dr. Ali said the collaboration would play an important role in expanding access to homeownership.
Once implemented, the social housing programme will add between 3,000 and 5,000 homes to the government’s housing portfolio. It will complement the wider 40,000-home initiative, which includes turnkey, modular, homestead and hinterland housing options for Guyanese families.