The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) along with a number of contractors met with residents of Sophia on Thursday afternoon, at the Sophia Primary School, to discuss the implementation of the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme and its probable impact on the community.
The project which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is designed to improve the quality of life and facilitate community development and economic development in selected communities through the delivery of quality housing and essential infrastructure solutions.
The Department of Public Information (DPI) release stated that the CH&PA Director of Community Development, Gladwin Charles, defended the necessity of having to meet with and inform the residents since there will likely be disruption due to future construction.
“We took advantage of the opportunity to let the residents pose their questions to the contractors and be informed on future construction plans. This meeting will inform residents of the procedures, locations and construction which will commence in a matter of two weeks,” Charles was quoted as saying.
Project Overseer and Engineer for the Project, Anthony Rajnauth, interacted with the residents to provide details of the project in Sophia. “The project is divided into components, where component one will deal with the delivery of houses and basic infrastructure and component two will cover the enhancement of urban road, road network and safety,” he explained.
Rajnauth added that the CH&PA will be executing Phase One – which involves, affordable and sustainable housing through improved core house construction, consolidation of existing housing schemes, including roads, drains and streetlights.
The engineer also assured residents that members of the community would be given opportunities for employment when construction commences in two weeks.
According to the DPI, the consultation with the residents was in keeping with the IDB’s policies which require an Environmental and Social Risk Assessment to identify and manage environmental, social, health and safety impacts and risks of the programme during construction and operation in the community.
