$163M in contracts inked for core homes at Parfaite Harmonie, home improvement subsidies

The Ministry of Housing and Water on Friday signed a contract which will see the construction of 25 core homes in Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.

Two additional contracts were also signed which offers 118 persons home improvement subsidies.  The three contracts amount to a total of $163M.

Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal, Permanent Secretary Andre Ally, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Sherwyn Greaves and Director of Projects Omar Narine attended the signing in the Ministry’s Boardroom.

In brief remarks, Minister Croal said the project is significant as it aims to improve the quality of life for citizens through better access to adequate housing and basic infrastructure for low-income populations.

“This programme has been reformulated, as part of our goal to provide sustainable and affordable housing, as well as, access to basic infrastructure for Guyanese, particularly those in low-income communities,” the Minister added.

The contracts signed falls under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) US$10M Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme.

The Bank has given approval for the government to extend the boundary of the programme and it will now allow families of low-income earners at Victoria, East Coast Demerara to access affordable housing. Sophia, Georgetown is also benefitting from this expansion.

Additionally, Minister Croal stated that works will soon commence on the much-needed road repairs in the Parfaite Harmonie community. Almost 10 kilometers of road repairs will be conducted.

“This will bring great relief for the people of Parfaite Harmonie because, you in the media will know there are a lot of complaints about the roads and in fact, we are talking about at least 10 kilometers of road work to be done,” he explained.

The contract for the government’s home improvement subsidy was awarded to Cemax Procurement and Contracting at $10 million and Mike and Daughters Lumberyard at $54.2 million.

Meanwhile, the contract for the core homes was awarded to Tristar Industries Inc.

The core homes will be no less than 330 square feet single-family homes with concrete blocks for the outer walls and floors, basic doors, windows, electrical wiring, water connections etc. The homes are designed to meet basic standards that a family can move into and affordably expand over time.

The average cost of each house is set at $4 million.