Contracts to the tune of some $750 million have been awarded to 13 contractors, for the construction of the first 100 homes in Williamsburg/Hampshire, Corentyne, Berbice.
Earlier today, the contractors attended a contract signing ceremony with Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Mr. Sherwyn Greaves at the Berbice Chamber of Commerce office, Rose Hall Town, Berbice.
This signing will see the commencement of construction for one hundred 20x30ft, two-bedroom flat units within the next few weeks. The contracts have been awarded to Cardinal Enterprise, S.A.H Construction & Supplies, A.A. Construction, Singh and Sons Construction, Vickram’s Contracting Services, JS Engineering Services and Supplies, N. Ramnarine Construction, Rasheid Construction, SAWA Investment Inc., Ramsarran & Sons Construction, Triple-A Construction, E.C.S Construction, and General Supplies and Feroze Construction Services.
Greaves in his remarks said this venture should be seen as an indication of greater plans for the housing sector in Region Six. He explained that in another few weeks, contracts will be signed for an additional 100 housing units at Ordinance Fortlands.
“We are extremely pleased to do this, we are excited for what these homes will do for this region, job creation is a big focus, so if you calculate 6 persons per house that will translate into 600 jobs”.
He added that the Housing Ministry has been mandated by His Excellency, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, to deliver 22,000 housing units over the next four years.
“We are well on our way to meeting this target, as we have commenced construction of units to meet all income brackets, in Cummings Lodge, Prospect, Providence, and Linden.”
Minister Croal also noted that the project is another promise delivered by President Ali, as the government forges ahead with its robust housing drive to deliver 50,000 house lots over the next four years. The Minister added that over the coming months, the Central Housing and Planning Authority’s Project Department will be spare heading other infrastructure works in the scheme.
He added that this project will transform the landscape and boost economic activity in the region as he implored contractors to utilize skills from within the region.
“The transportation sector will benefit, the suppliers will benefit from this project, altogether there will be massive economic activity which is a great spin-off from the housing and construction sector.”
Also, in explaining the beneficiary selection process, Croal said persons will be selected from the agency’s database who have indicated their interest inbuilt units.
“We will go into our database and based on the request we will issue those persons with pre-qualification letters so that they can engage a financial institution of their choice for a loan”.
To date, there are some 400 applicants who have indicated their interest in securing a built housing unit in the region.
Also, as the demand continues to grow for housing in Region Six, the Minister noted that the Ministry is actively engaging the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) , and National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) to acquire more lands.
