A total of 1,730 certificates of title will be distributed over the next two days at the International Building Expo which opened at the National Stadium, Providence, Thursday evening.
Apart from the land titles, the Ministry of Housing and Water’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) will distribute more than 2000 house lots during the exhibition.
This is according to Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, as he addressed a mammoth crowd at the opening of the 2024 edition of the exhibition.
“By the end of this year, more than 40,000 house lots will be allocated. We will be allocating over 2,000 lots over the next two days and issuing 1,730 certificates of titles,” Minister Croal disclosed.
He added that the ministry has since signalled the finalisation of ownership in new areas such as La Reconnaissance, Cummings Lodge, Great Diamond, Golden Grove, Industry, Non-Pareil, and Enterprise.
The hallmark of the PPP/C Government has always been land ownership.
As such, the government distributed over 34,000 house lots in four years, compared to 2015 to 2020 under the previous APNU+AFC Government, which barely managed to hand 7,534.
“The target of allocating 50,000 house lots over five years did not include in our manifesto commitment the complete houses. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. So far, we have allocated in excess of 1,700 houses, of which over 1,500 are in various stages of completion,” the minister stressed.
Minister Croal said before the year is finished, the ministry will build another 600 of these houses since the demand for affordable housing continues to grow.
Additionally, new areas for housing were identified this year. These include Mabaruma, Region One; Wales, Region Three, La Bonne Intention (LBI), Felicity, Chateau Margot, Haruni, Non-Pareil, Enterprise and Silica City in Region Four.
In Region Five, a new housing area was identified in the village of Waterloo while in Region Six, it is Moleson Creek and Palmyra. Bartica was identified in Region Seven and Mahdia in Region Eight.
Plantations Hope and York in Region Ten will also see the commencement of housing schemes being built out.
“Of course, Silica City, as you know, is the brainchild of His Excellency President, Ali, and shortly he will unveil the master plan for this area,” Minister Croal disclosed.
The strides the government has made over the past four years also saw help from banks and insurance companies, who have all lowered their interest rates for faster approval of loans.
Over the years, the demand for housing has changed. It includes the use of sustainable building materials, energy-efficient appliances, utilities and designs. that take into consideration the differently abled and lower income earners.
This demands have led to changes in policies and even legislation, such as the amended Condominium Act that now properly defines how developers and buyers can navigate the process and gives greater comfort to buyers.
