$ 4.4 billion for housing infrastructure work on ECD – News Room Guyana

About $ 4.4 billion will be spent on infrastructure development for several housing areas on the East Coast Demerara where lands have already been earmarked, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal revealed Wednesday during outreach to Annandale.

Last year, many houses were allocated in Strathspey, Bladen Hall, Vigilance, Annandale Plantation, La Bonne Intention and Cummings Lodge.

“Those are the areas where we are developing the infrastructure work now to ensure that those people allocated for those areas can access and start building. The intention is that we will spend $ 4.4 billion on infrastructure work only for those East Coast communities for which we have allocated for housing lots.

Personnel from the Ministry of Housing and Water engaging residents during the outreach (DPI photo)

“Construction for those areas we have made allocations has already started and by the last half of this year, all that infrastructure work will be completed and you will be able to have a fully developed area that you can do your building work for her, ”Minister Croal said.

The works, which fall under the Ministry’s 2021 work program, include the construction of roads and drainage channels and access to water and electricity.

“When we give you communities, we want to give you whole communities so you don’t have an excuse why you can’t access your facility,” said the Minister of Croal.

The government is committed to clearing the backlog of housing lot applications in the system and is looking to acquire more land for development.

This, says Minister Croal, would be done with the help of President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Guyana Sugar Corporation and National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited.

The PPP / C administration has pledged to allocate 50,000 housing lots over five years, as outlined in its manifesto. To date, through the President’s Dream Realized initiative, over 3,600 housing lots have been distributed over four months across three regions.

In the 2020 Emergency Budget, the government implemented several measures to make home ownership affordable for all. This includes reversing the value added tax on building materials to make construction homes more affordable. The government also increased the mortgage interest relief ceiling from $ 15 million to $ 30 million.

Also present today were representatives of Guyana Water Incorporated and the Ministry’s Community Relations Department, which deals with trespass and squatting issues. (Removed and adapted from DPI)

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