1500 house lots issued at 1st “Dream Realised” housing drive for 2023

As the Housing and Water Ministry hosted its first “Dream Realised” housing drive for 2023, some 1500 residents were allocated house lots at Good Hope and Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).
The drive was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Tuesday. Of the 1500 recipients, 1100 received low and moderate-income house lots while the remainder were assigned medium and high-income lots.

Presently, infrastructural development is being put in place including clearing the land, constructing roads, bridges and drainage systems, and water and electricity connections.
“We, at the agency and the Government, recognise the spending power of the citizens and we set the lot prices accordingly,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves explained.
He added that areas for playgrounds, religious entities, cemeteries, schools, Police stations, and towers for Digicel and Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Co Ltd (GTT) and for Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) have also been set aside to ensure residents have all the amenities they require once they gain access to their respective lands.
The proximity of the house lots to the emerging highway going from Aubrey Barker to Enmore, ECD, promises to be profitable for allottees, according to Greaves. “The minute you collect that allocation letter, your lot will quadruple in value,” Greaves told the beneficiaries.

However, Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry Susan Rodrigues highlighted that East Bank residents who were assigned house lots in the previous year also benefit from their proximity to the emerging Eccles to Great Diamond four-lane highway.
“We’re developing a very complex network of highways and roads and you will see a whole different community being developed along the East Coast linking to the East Bank,” Rodrigues said while adding that living close to these roadways can allow residents the opportunity to multiply their house value and income.
“That is the most impactful thing we can do, through our housing programme, for our low-income earners,” Rodrigues said.
“Guyanese people, not one ethnicity or not from one sector of our country but Guyanese people [are] receiving their house lots and given the opportunity to transform their lives,” Rodrigues said. “What you’re receiving today is far more than a house lot. You are receiving empowerment. You are being given the opportunity to have financial freedom.”
This “Dream Realised” exercise is in line with the Housing Ministry’s plans to allocate 10,000 house lots by the end of the year and their overall goal of 50,000 house lots by 2025. This housing drive brought them nearly halfway to their goal, at 22,500 house lot allocations.
The Ministry is aiming to distribute 3000 house lots along the East Coast this year, adding to the 5900 lots that were distributed since 2020.
Some $24.2 billion has been spent thus far on infrastructural work along the East Coast, in areas such as Mon Repos, La Reconnaissance, Strathspey, Bladen Hall and Cummings Lodge, with efforts being made to provide treated water for close to 100,000 persons by 2024.