Nearly 400 low-income houses to be built by end of 2023, Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing reports

Published by [email protected] at May 19, 2023

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Posted: Friday, May 19, 2023. 1:01 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing Julius Espat provided a thorough update on the Low-Income Housing Project, one of several means by which the Government proposes to build 10 thousand homes in its current term of administration.

With a total Budget allocation of $16.6 million in the two fiscal years since its inception – $10 million in the Budget and the rest coming from special allocations obtained from Hurricane Lisa relief funds – some 391 housing units are projected to be built by the end of 2023. 213 have been completed and handed over to date; 145 are under construction of which 45 will be handed over in the next month and 100 by the end of the year, and the start of the construction of the final 33 will begin in June as well.

Each house costs $50,000 to construct or $113 per square foot, an increase of 25 percent allowing for inflation, including the provision of septic tanks/soakaways, electricity, road access, and lot filling where needed, Espat said.

Espat detailed the procurement process for contractors, builders, and others and the Ministry is following the process and encouraging contractors to register in order to participate. Some 121 registered contractors are currently enrolled of which 81 have built homes under the project, whose names Espat read out in Parliament, but he noted that some of them will not get a chance to build again because they failed to fulfill their requirements.

The Minister also cited a partnership with Rodla Construction to build a subdivision of houses at $45,000 on quarter-acre properties which give space for a backyard garden to plant for oneself.

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