BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – HAVING secured $50M for the Unity Housing Solution Programme, the government launched the initiative yesterday (Feb. 17), the first phase of which will see the construction of 300 houses.
The launch took place on Wellington Road in vicinity of the National Housing Cooperation (NHC).
The government secured funding for the project from the Social Security Board.
Minister with Responsibility for Human Settlement the Hon. Eugene Hamilton, in addressing the audience, informed that the project will be executed by the NHC and in preparation, a number of steps were taken including the recruitment of Warren Thompson as the project consultant.
The houses – to be built in the guava-berry design, strawberry design and the townhouse design – would be constructed at a cost of $130,000 each, about $10,000 less than was previously anticipated, Hamilton informed.
He said previously-constructed houses were fitted with shingle rooves but these would be fitted with galvalume rooves.
The houses are to be constructed in clusters in more than 20 areas including: Wellington Road, Taylors, Pine Gardens, Green Acres, Saddlers Park, Ottleys, Estridge and Conaree.
The clusters of houses are expected to be built within the first six months of the project, Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris informed.
And according to Hamilton, after the construction of the 300 homes, the scope of the programme would be broadened in that the NRC would be providing assistance to individuals who had been given land, in constructing their homes.
Both Hamilton and Dr. Harris were careful to indicate that the programme is designed to assist “the poor and indigent” and not those in a higher income bracket.
Hamilton indicated that with approval given by the Cabinet, the mortgage interest rates which the NHC would be offering range from two to five percent.
To ensure that the project is properly executed, Minister Hamilton said there are several checks and balances which have been set in place.
PM Harris, stressing the importance of quality, advised the contractors to deliver a good end product and to work carefully and tidily.
As part of the Housing Solution Programme, Dr. Harris said public-private partnerships would be fostered “to broaden and expand the scope of home owners for our people. We aim over the next 10 years to provide the greatest number of housing solutions by any administration in living memory…”
