The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) yesterday signed 14 contracts for the construction of low, middle and moderate income houses which will be on display at its “ Housing Solution 2017 and Beyond Exhibition” set for 1st-5th May at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara.
According to a GINA release, Minister within the Ministry of Communities, with responsibility for housing, Valerie Adams-Patterson presided over the signing of the contracts, between CHPA and the selected contractors. The minister explained that the authority is seeking to create a long-lasting model village that the public can visit and appreciate the government’s “new” housing ideas for 2017 and beyond.
“We want to show Guyana what is our way forward in the housing sector…we are setting up a what we call a model village… the public can go to that location, see different housing model homes and different types of building materials used,” the minister was quoted in the press release.
The project is aimed at significantly reducing the 25,000 housing backlog within the CHPA system, and to have the 28,000 vacant house lots across the country occupied, the media bulletin said. The prospective home owners must have previously applied or must make an application for the house lot, the minister explained.
According to the press release, the contractors will construct ten low income, five moderate income and eight middle income houses for the creation of the model village for the exhibition. Meanwhile, CHPA utilizing existing resources from its 1000 Homes Project will build six duplexes of three designs, and two single units on stilts, and is hoping to have one of the contractors complete a town house unit.
Project Director (acting) Omar Narine explained in the release that the 14 contractors were given an 80 x 45 feet plot of low income land to construct a 600-square foot house, and an 80 x 62 feet plot of moderate income land to construct a 900-square foot house. Contractors opting to build middle income houses were given an 80 x 85 feet plot of land for 1100-square foot homes.
The media bulletin further noted that the Project Director said that contractors must commence construction of the houses within one week of signing the contracts and complete them by fourteen weeks. The contractors were shortlisted from thirty applicants who had expressed interest in the project, and CHPA conducted due diligence background checks on the developers to ensure that they possess the human resources and financial capability to complete the houses.
According to the press release, CHPA’s corporate Secretary, Hannifah Jordan said that the construction of the buildings are the sole responsibility of the contractors and they are required to submit weekly progress reports to the authority. Project Manager of the 1000 Homes Project, Kenneth Dazzell will provide on-site monitoring.
Jordan further noted in the bulletin that the contractor is responsible for any defects to the building and the general maintenance of the property up to when the house is sold. The sale of the building is the contractor’s responsibility and as such, he will set the price for the unit. CHPA will sell the land for which the purchaser will pay $300,000 for low income land, $500,000 for moderate income land and $700,000 for middle income land.
According to the press release, as per the agreement between CHPA and the developers, the units must be sold on or before, six months from the close of the exhibition. If the contractor fails to complete the building for the Expo, the incomplete building will form part of the land managed and controlled by CHPA which shall complete same, Jordan explained. She further noted that the contractor would be reimbursed for the incomplete unit on the sale of the building, and the authority would be apply a value to the incomplete work.
Purchasers will be prohibited from making any modifications or extensions to the unit purchased for a period of five years, except with the consent of CHPA, according to Jordan in the release.
Thereafter, the owner may apply to the Eccles/Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council for permission to make modifications. The house and the land cannot be sold until ten years after the date of passing of the certificate, she said.
