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BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (FEBRUARY 14TH 2004) – The National Housing Corporation (NHC) has embarked on a EC$20 million home construction programme.
NHC Managing Director Mr. Henry Mills said some 400 “Super Low-income homes” are being built around the island of St. Kitts.
“It is a house which will be in the range of the new owners. It will be a home that you can afford based on your income and we are targeting at this time those persons who earn around EC$800 to EC$1600 per month. That is the group that we are focusing on,” said Mills, at a Town Hall Meeting at the Saddlers Primary School.. He said a minimum of 50 homes will be constructed in each of the 8 constituencies in St. Kitts. NHC has plans to build homes for other category of workers.
Mr. Mills said the cost of the houses depending on the design and number of bedrooms will range from EC$30,000 to EC$50,000.
“You can have a two-bedroom with a porch; a two-bedroom with a slab for a third bed-room or you can have a one-bed-room or a one-bed-room with the provision of a slab or platform for a second bedroom,” said Mills, who said the programme has been very receptive.
He said the two options most sought are the complete two bedrooms with a porch and the two-bedrooms with the slab for the third additional bedroom. All the homes will be fitted with kitchen, dining room and bathroom facilities.
Mr. Mills said the “Super-low homes” have been designed so that the new owners can manage the cost. He said as the NHC has duty-free status, its officials in an effort to keep the cost of the homes down, met with the hardware stores and other suppliers and an agreement was reached for the provision of uniform rates for building materials including concrete products from CONTEC and St. Kitts Masonry Products.
“So if you are building homes in Basseterre, Sandy Point, St. Paul’s, Saddlers or Cayon, the unit cost of the building material remains the same,” said Mills, who added there is also a fixed labour cost.
“We have discussed the terms and conditions with the contractors to ensure there are no cost over runs. We hope this will change the mentality of contractors. We are teaching them to produce and manage persons and the construction of a house. They must know that if you can hire three workers, do not hire five and ten as this will put them in serious trouble,” said Mills.
He said contractors have been given a minimum of four or five homes to construct, to ensure there are no short cuts and drop in quality of the finished product. A full time staff has been zoned and monitors the construction from the first day to ensure a quality finished product.
He said a seven-page contract has been signed by all the builders.
The NHC Managing Director said the new thrust of the National Housing Corporation is to provide social services development in which homes are not constructed in isolation but with the various services like water, electricity and roads, along with shops, parks and recreation facilities.
“What we provide is a complete functional area, a complete society in which all can benefit” said Mills at the Town Hall Meeting, which was also attended by the Parliamentary Representative, Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas.
Scores of residents from the villages of Newton Ground, St. Paul’s, Dieppe Bay, Parson’s, Lavington, Saddlers and Harris’ were present and posed questions on matters of concern. |
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