The Palmyra Housing Development Project is said to be taking shape, with Housing and Water Minister Colin Croal revealing that the first 100 houses are currently under construction.
Works ongoing on the houses
This is in addition to works ongoing on the Berbice Stadium and the construction of several other structures in the Region Six Commercial Zone.
The planned development at Palmyra, East Coast Berbice includes construction of over 700 houses, each reportedly costing $14M. These include a mix of houses for young professionals, moderate-income households, and low-income households. The first set of these houses is expected to be ready for occupancy by the end of March this year. The overall cost for this housing project is estimated at approximately $7 billion.
This project is part of a larger investment plan that includes a stadium, hotel, call centre and business centre. While President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced that the initial focus would be the construction of houses for young professionals, this has since changed.
“Initially, we would have spoken about the young professional houses, and we have areas allocated for that. What we have done is that, in Berbice, we have 200 houses that we built; one hundred at Williamsburg-Hampshire and one hundred at Ordinance-Fort Lands, those are what we consider as low-income houses. Those are the two-bedroom houses. We then did an analysis because we have to be cognisant of the cost to build the houses. A house in Georgetown will not cost the same in Berbice because you have to transport the building materials. So, we did a study and moved to the next stage; we replicated the 3-bedroom ones that we are building in Georgetown. So, we have one hundred that will be completed, some before, but all by March 31. One hundred 3-bedroom bungalow-type houses. Inclusive of the land and the houses will come up to about $14M,” Minister Croal disclosed.
“There is a first hundred on the Palmyra Development Project that will be available for allocation. The area for the construction of houses for young professionals, that block still remains. We are doing this in phases. We have to be mindful of affordability and the cost for the houses. We are testing with this type of house, and based on the response, demand and feedback, we will know how to elevate the designs,” he detailed.
Croal said there are nine contractors currently working on the one hundred 3-bedroom bungalow-type houses. He explained that the nine contractors with the lowest bids were selected, and the average cost is $13,150,000. (G4)
