Officials from the Ministry of Housing and Water “One Stop Shop” campaign today visited Mahdia to allot house lots to those persons who were left homeless after a fire on July 1 wrecked 28 buildings in the community’s commercial district.
The Government Information Agency today said that at a meeting in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council residents turned out to begin the registration process and others for interviews and payment for their plots.
They were required to make a down payment on the land and were given an additional six months to complete payment. Persons who had applied for land prior to the fire were also given an opportunity to register and make payments.
GINA said that some of the affected residents expressed their gratitude at the speed with which the distribution process is moving and the affordable cost of the plots which are being offered to them along with a minimal fee for the transport. Some others, however, voiced their doubts about the availability of water at the designated housing area which is some distance away from the main area.
“However, during his visit to Mahdia in July shortly after the fire gutted the shopping arcade, Housing and Water Minister, Irfaan Ali assured them that steps were being taken to have the area fully developed as a housing scheme and all amenities will be put in place”, GINA reported.
The new scheme is slated to house 136 houses.
The area has already been surveyed and demarcated and is to be cleared and palls put down shortly. All other works to get the scheme up and running are slated to commence within the first quarter of 2011.
Plans are also in the pipeline for the rebuilding of the arcade area, which was gutted during the conflagration.
The new plan entails an upgrade of the area which was primarily filled by wooden structures.
Civil Engineer with the Housing Ministry, Omar Bispat stated in the GINA release that a modern and efficient layout is planned for the area.
“That layout now will be made out of concrete walkways, concrete drains for drainage, also a sanitary block and a septic tank for sanitation”, he told GINA
The new arcade will be strictly for commercial use, as was not the case before the area was gutted.
