Over 200 EoIs received for construction of houses – Min Croal

Housing Minister Collin Croal has disclosed that more than 200 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 to Guyanese.

These companies have submitted their Expressions of Interest (EoIs) during the Housing Ministry’s recent application process.
Only last week, Minister Croal disclosed during a visit to Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) that the invitation for the EoIs was closed recently and the technical teams are now conducting the necessary engagement and evaluation on the submissions.
He subsequently confirmed to the Guyana Times, that there was a good response with the initial number of EoIs received being pegged at over 200.
As part of its housing programme, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had committed in its 2025 manifesto to construct 40,000 houses across Guyana over the next five years.
“We want to push home ownership – that’s the bottom line. And we want to…push the whole aspect of giving persons an opportunity to own their home as quickly as possible, not having to have to go through the hassles of dealing [with the process] on their own to find time off from work to dealing with contractors, and all the nuances that happen when you’re building your own home.”
“All of us, we’re excited [about] what is to come, because in the Expression of Interest, we didn’t give the parameter of the design. What we gave was the size of the houses, the criteria that they should satisfy. So, many of them have been innovative in terms of their design. So, you can rest assured that those contractors that we’ll be moving ahead with for the home construction, you will see new designs outside of what we normally do,” Croal recently declared.
The Housing Minister went on to explain that they are targeting to build at least 8,000 houses per year and with a lot of time lost already, the contractors would have to ramp up work once the contracts are awarded.
“We’ll have to aim for more than 8,000, by year two… So, it’s a lot of work ahead, but we’re up to the challenge, and the government is committed, as we’ve always been for the housing sector, to ensure that we also make a difference for persons and their lives,” he asserted.

Expanding contractor search
Back in September, Minister Croal had explained to reporters the ministry had to expand their search for contractors beyond Guyana given that the current construction boom here has caused a shortage of contractors. However, he had noted that Guyanese companies will be priority.
“We’re not looking locally alone. We’re going even further afield [but] we want to, first of all, maximise those contractors we have locally for the construction of the houses, and then bring in others who will be able to keep it our price. The price that for the houses are set by us at the governmental level, through the CHPA (Central Housing and Planning Authority). So, they will have to bring it in at a particular cost,” the minister told reporters during a site visit to several housing projects along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway on September 21.
At the time, he noted that given its promise to deliver 40,000 houses, the Housing Ministry will be strengthening its monitoring capacity to ensure that quality homes are delivered to Guyanese citizens.
Feedback
On Sunday, the Housing Minister conducted a site visit at the highly-touted Silica City, where some 110 homes are under construction along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. While inspecting the works, Croal underscored the importance of building quality homes.
“The construction of houses will play a major role in terms of fulfilling our target for this period [in office]. So, it therefore means we’ll have to do some strengthening at our Project Department,” he had stated.
According to Croal, the Housing Ministry has been receiving a lot of feedback from existing homeowners on the quality of work done during the last term. To this end, he had revealed plans to establish action sheet system that will track progress and identify issues in these construction projects.
“So, we want to ensure that quality [work] is part of what we’re delivering on …and we’ll be strengthening that aspect of the Project Department, because monitoring is very important. We don’t want when the houses are complete, then you have the beneficiaries complaining about the quality. This is something we should be picking up very early,” the minister posited.
Meanwhile, newly-appointed Minister within the Housing Ministry, Vanessa Benn, had also underscored the importance of ensuring quality products are delivered to citizens.
“My goal is not just to monitor progress but to assist staff in overcoming challenges that may hinder quality construction. Quality does require more time, but improving efficiency within the ministry is a key focus,” she said.
In fact, Minister Benn explained that the ministry is already looking at ways to make the processes there more efficient specifically through the digitisation of systems to streamline land applications and building plan approvals, thereby reducing delays and frustrations for citizens. Collaboration with other agencies, she added, will also be vital to this process.