Govt mulls building townhouses at Ogle, Silica City – CH&PA CEO

– as more than 270 companies indicate interest in constructing houses

As part of its commitment to deliver 40,000 homes within the next five years, the Government is planning to construct townhouses at Ogle and Silica City in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), where the demand for housing remains highest among applicants registered with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
The initiative was confirmed by CH&PA Chief Executive Officer Dr Martin Pertab during a recent interview with Guyana Times, during which he noted that the first phase is expected to comprise approximately 200 units, with additional townhouses to be developed if the pilot proves successful.
Pertab explained that the decision to pursue townhouse development is driven by the high demand for housing, particularly in Region Four, where the availability of suitable land has become a growing challenge.

He added that the townhouses are also intended to cater to the needs of young professionals, providing an alternative housing option in areas where land availability is limited.
According to Pertab, the Government is working with international contractors on the project, which forms part of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administration’s broader housing programme.
More than 270 companies – local, regional, and international – have formally indicated their interest in constructing houses across Guyana as part of the Government’s commitment to deliver 40,000 homes.
Pertab said the Government remains engaged with these contractors. In fact, he disclosed that the Government will soon launch a website to showcase some of these contractors and the housing solutions they are offering. He said through the website, citizens will be able to connect with the contractors, utilise their services, and leave reviews on their performances.

This, he emphasised, will result in the contractors being ranked and will force them to perform optimally in housing projects. According to Pertab, the contractors with sound financing who expressed an interest in the Government’s housing initiative will be featured on the website.
The CH&PA remains on track to clear the backlog for all regions except Region Four by 2027.
In July, Housing Minister Collin Croal disclosed that there were some 80,000 applicants in the system countrywide – of which approximately 50,000 are from Region Four.
The Housing Minister explained that one of the biggest challenges is access to land, especially for Region Four, where the demand is high.
It was recently reported that the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) is working on making approximately 8000 acres of land available to assist the Housing Ministry in clearing the backlog across the country.
Meanwhile, as the Government continues to process applications for Region Four, Minister within the Housing Ministry Vanessa Benn emphasised that priority will be given to applicants who have been in the system since 2021 and earlier.
“Persons who have applications in 2021 and the years prior, we are addressing those now,” she said on the Starting Point podcast on Sunday.
In this regard, Minister Benn urged individuals to update their information. “We are encouraging persons to follow up on their applications. You have some people who would say, ‘Oh, I applied since 1997 or 2008, and I haven’t heard anything as yet.’ But have they checked? Have they considered that the contact information they had on their application might no longer be valid? That is why we keep asking members of the public. Once you have an application in the system and it’s been there a while, please update it,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Minister Benn acknowledged that there are some cases where individuals have been allocated lands but are still waiting to access them to start construction. However, she noted that the Government is working diligently to ensure everyone with allocations can access their lands.
“In some instances, unfortunately, some of the contractors have been a bit sluggish. You would have seen Minister Croal and I having meetings with them and kind of reading the riot act to get them to really advance. For those not living up to the conditions of their contracts, some terminations have been done, causing delays as well, because if my contract is terminated, then you have to go through the process of retendering and getting someone else, and so on. So, those are some of the challenges that we face, but we’re addressing them more actively to get that done,” she assured.
Nonetheless, the Minister emphasised that the Ministry continues to work aggressively to ensure housing solutions for all categories of citizens. She said these include distributing house lots, building homes, helping allottees start their housing foundations, and providing subsidy vouchers for steel and cement to help facilitate construction.