DPI says 300 of Ministry’s LBI young professional homes on track for completion

Some of the young professional houses that are nearing completion (DPI photo)
Some of the young professional houses that are nearing completion (DPI photo)

The Department of Public Information [DPI] says that the Ministry of Housing and Water, through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), is on track to complete 300 of the 700 young professional homes presently under construction at the new La Bonne Intention (LBI) Housing Scheme, along the East Coast of Demerara.

The DPI release said that some of the homes are at different stages due to contractor variations, while noting that several have already been handed over to recipients. DPI said that Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal provided this update to the DPI on Tuesday, during an inspection of ongoing works in the new housing area.

“We have about 345 houses already. On this side where I am standing [in Phase Two], we are catering for about another 200 plus houses,” Croal informed the DPI. According to the DPI, the new LBI scheme comprises nearly 2,000 lots of which four hundred lots have already been distributed in the scheme’s front section, with the remaining 1,600 lots in the other area. “The LBI community is a massive investment that is happening before your eyes. In the first phase of infrastructure works, as it pertains to roads, we would have spent about $6 billion already. This was just to build it in a way to allow the trucks ingress and egress of the area,” DPI quoted the minister as saying. DPI also noted that the ministry faced challenges during the initial phase of development with two contractors. Those issues have since been resolved, allowing progress to continue smoothly.

According to the DPI, the CHPA has been actively constructing homes in other villages along the East Coast of Demerara, where several housing schemes are being developed.  The DPI release disclosed that three-bedroom homes are also being built in the Success Housing Scheme, while low-income homes are set to be constructed at La Reconnaissance. Similar houses are also being constructed, the DPI says, in Regions Three, Six, and Ten. Additionally, under the Hinterland Housing Programme, homes are being built in Regions One, Seven, and Nine. This initiative forms part of the government’s effort to provide affordable homeownership to Guyanese nationwide and aligns with its commitment to distribute 50,000 house lots to citizens by 2025.

The homes are offered in two styles ─ single flat unit (bungalow) and two-storey designs ─ most of which have been allocated to persons.

Foundation work is being conducted for another set of young professional homes at LBI (DPI photo)