President Dr Irfaan Ali at the housing drive in Region Three on Thursday with Housing Minister Collin Croal
The Guyana Government is continuing with its aggressive housing drive across the country, with President Dr Irfaan Ali announcing on Thursday that some 2000 new homes will be built in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) next year.
The Head of State was at the time addressing residents and contractors that will be participating in the Housing and Water Ministry’s housing programme. At the event on Thursday, where the commercial banks were present to pre-qualify persons, some 32 families benefited from housing units that were constructed at Anna Catherina, Leonora, and Uitvlugt – all on the West Coast of Demerara.
“I want to tell you how pleased I am that you’re participating in this process today… I think we are in a position also to have some persons moving in immediately to their homes because we have some homes already completed… So, based on those who are in more critical need, those persons maybe we’ll be able to move in into their homes within a month or a month and a half,” President Ali indicated.
Lands earmarked at Leonora in Region Three for housing development
According to the Guyanese leader, the aggressive housing programme in Region Three will see more homes being built in various communities. “We are hoping that by the end of next year, we’ll construct another maybe 2000 units in Region Three,” he declared.
The President explained to citizens that the Government is moving towards this model of housing construction since the pre-built homes are far more cost-effective and efficient.
“We’re able to deliver the product – a house – to you at far the less cost and many homeowners prefer this model these days because of the challenges that they experience with contractors, with builders; the issue of transportation, delays. So really, the Government is taking on this additional responsibility of building the homes and making them accessible to you. And the homes, of course, are built at a much, much less cost than if you were doing it individually and that is because of economies of scale. We can do more things on a larger scale. We can achieve greater savings because of doing it in bulk,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, as the infrastructure landscape of Region Three changes rapidly with more roads and highways being built, President Ali assured residents of a more prosperous and better quality of life.
These new homes that will be constructed will be located at what is currently referred to as the backlands of communities such as Uitvlugt, Stewartville, Anna Catherina, Cornelia Ida, Leonora, Meten-Meer-Zorg and Tuschen. However, President Ali noted that when the road network expansion is complete, then these houses will in fact be on the new highways.
Among the road works being undertaken in Region Three is the Schoonord to Crane four-lane highway. This $11.8 billion road project is being undertaken by eight companies and is expected to be completed by October. However, during a site visit last month, President Ali had to admonish the contractors since all of them were behind in the execution of the project.
Eventually, that highway will be further expanded from Crane all the way to Parika. Moreover, the gas-to-shore project will also see the construction of a new road from the West Demerara foreshore all the way to Wales, West Bank Demerara.
“So, every single area will be connected and interconnected to these two new highways. So, what we know is the highway now will be the old highway and a new highway will be built. So, all these homes will be connected very easily to key and critical infrastructure,” the Head of State noted.
In addition to road works and housing needs, Region Three is also pegged for growth in industrial development and manufacturing. Moreover, the Government is also working on ensuring that key services such as healthcare facilities are there to support the growing demands in the region.
Consequently, a new regional hospital will be built at De Kinderen, WCD, and the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) will be upgraded into a major healthcare facility. Together, these two facilities will fulfil the healthcare needs of the region.
These, according to the President, will also be supported by the private institution – Sheriff General Hospital – at Leonora.
“This is what development is about when successive generations enjoy a better and high standard of living when successive generations enjoy new and different forms of prosperity… You are now part of this new phase of your own life, this new phase of your own family development in which you’re moving towards homeownership,” the Head of State told the residents.
