40 houses set for completion by February at Bartica

The 40 houses that are under construction at Five Miles Housing Scheme Phase II in Bartica, Region Seven, are slated for completion by February month-end.

During an inspection of the project on Saturday, Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal expressed satisfaction with the works completed thus far in the scheme.

The government is investing about $490 million on the construction of these houses.

Two types of three-bedroom houses are being built in the housing area, which is the bungalow-roof and V-roof, which cost $13 million and $11 million, respectively.

“Overall, [works on] majority of the houses are over 50 per cent completed…We have a list of persons who have already indicated their interest. During the next two weeks, we will be engaging those persons to be able to pre-qualify as well as to allocate,” Minister Croal said.

The 99-acre housing area yields over 300 serviced lots, with 150 house lots already allocated.

Meanwhile, approximately $1.87 billion is being spent on infrastructural works such as drainage and road networks in the housing scheme, providing enhanced access.

This project is also stimulating the local economy with the creation of employment opportunities since all four of the contractors involved in the project are from Bartica.

To address the region’s housing backlog, Minister Croal underlined that the ministry is currently engaging the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) to acquire additional lands there.

Region Seven currently has about 1,000 pending applicants.

“We will be able to clear those arrears once those lands are acquired…We are trying to do a hybrid [approach] for both lands and the construction of houses to push homeownership,” he explained.

The minister was joined by GWI’s Hinterland Services Director, Ramchand Jailal, Prime Minister Representative for Region Seven, Ewrin Ward, Mayor of Bartica, Anthony Murray, and other technical personnel from the ministry. (DPI)