Govt banking on Silica City, Reg 3 to help meet growing housing demand in Reg 4

– as current land stock can only clear 50% of Reg 4 backlog

With limited land available across Region Four to meet the increasing housing demand, the Guyana Government is looking to open new lands within Silica City on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway and in Region Three to reduce the massive housing application backlog across the Demerara-Mahaica region.
Currently, there is a housing backlog of approximately 78,000 pending applications across Guyana – over 50,000 of those coming from Region Four alone.
President Dr Irfaan Ali explained during a video broadcast on Thursday that a major challenge in clearing the Region Four backlog is the unavailability of land.
“Land in Region Four is becoming harder to get for development. We are now in close proximity to the wetlands, so our development is limited by land availability, especially in areas like Region Four,” he explained.
At the end of 2025, Region Four had a backlog of 50,375 housing applications. Some 1569 lots have been allocated up to the end of April, leaving 48,806 applications pending, with only 1090 house lots currently in the system to be allocated.
At present, efforts are ongoing to develop another 21,803 house lots from newly-acquired lands across the region. But this, according to President Ali, will only cover half of the region’s backlog.
“The amount of land being acquired in Region Four currently can only clear 50 per cent of this backlog by the end of 2027. So, I want Region Four to understand this dynamic,” the Head of State explained.
To this end, he pointed out that the Government is now looking at developing house lots in other nearby regions such as Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) to address the high backlog in Region Four.
“We have already started to put investment into the development of 26,175 new lots in Region Three. It’s important to note, however, that a number of applicants from Region Four, where we have that enormous demand, will be transferred to Region Three. So, while this seems an adequate number to clear the Region Three backlog, we will also have to invest more in Region Three, where there is land available to help clear the Region Four backlog,” the Guyanese leader stated.

Silica City
Moreover, President Ali also disclosed plans to open up new lands for housing development in Region Four, especially along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, where the Government’s model urban housing development is located.
“That is why we are investing heavily in Silica City, and we’re building out all these new highways to open up new housing areas along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, new housing areas in Silica City and beyond, so that can create new opportunities to clear this backlog in Region Four,” he noted.
Located approximately 40 kilometres (km) from Georgetown and five km from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Silica City is designed as a climate-resilient urban ecosystem that integrates innovation, nature, and smart technology. It will be Guyana’s first smart, modern, and sustainable city and is part of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s climate change mitigation initiatives under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030).
Silica City was initially conceived in 2009 by Ali during his tenure as Housing Minister. The Government has set aside approximately 3800 acres of land for the new city, with about 15,000 houses to be constructed in various phases over the next two decades.
In its first five years, the city is expected to cater to just over 3000 households but has the capacity to accommodate as many as 60,000 residents, which the Head of State says will play a tremendous role in reducing the housing backlog in Region Four.
“We are looking to develop 3800 acres of land there. Now, what this will allow us to do in the future is expand to another 10,000 acres. Now, this flagship new frontier is designed for a projected population of about 60,000 residents, and that will help us also with the Region Four backlog,” the President stated.
Only on Thursday, the Minister within the Ministry of Housing, Vanessa Benn, conducted a site inspection at the Silica City housing development. The visit was aimed at assessing the progress of housing and infrastructure works to ensure the development is ready for occupancy.
Phase One comprises 110 young professional homes, of which 60 have already been completed. The remaining units are expected to be finished by the end of next month, according to the Housing Ministry. These houses comprise four designs with prices ranging between $27 million and $35 million.
Housing Minister Collin Croal had previously reported that a number of these houses are already allocated to beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the Government is also looking at other innovations to tackle the growing housing demand across the Demerara-Mahaica region, including investments in townhouses and condominiums.
In fact, the Condominium Act was passed in 2022, providing the primary legal framework for the creation, ownership, management, and termination of condominiums.