Hundreds attend housing expo
benefit from all the modern facilities that it can afford to provide for the people.
Meanwhile, in his brief remarks, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan said that Perseverance represents an acknowledgement of a new approach that was needed. He said that the project, which is known as the ‘1,000 Homes Project,’ started in 2013. In the next year, he said, the first batch of 50 houses were constructed. However, by the end of 2015 and at the time the new administration took over, none of the new houses could be occupied.
Bulkan said this reality immediately informed the government that the approach was wrong and that the state was not geared to be an efficient builder of homes. He said that the role of the state should be a facilitator and to create an enabling environment and to allow the private sector, in an open and competitive process, to construct the houses.
He said that to date, 200 two-bedroom houses of 600 square feet have been completed at a direct cost of approximately $4.6 million each. He said that the figure does not include the further expenditure of approximately $630 million for infrastructure costs, such as land preparation, roads, bridges and drains, water, electricity, the cost of the land itself, and all other expenses associated with the execution of the project.
A few models of the homes on display at the expo ranged in price from $6.5 million to $17 million.
On Sunday, one potential home owner will win a free house lot during a drawing. Contestants have to be applicants who are pre-qualified for a low-income house lot.
Corporate gold sponsors for the expo are: Gaico Construction, Republic Bank Limited, the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and Namilco. The bronze corporate sponsors are: New Building Society, ScotiaBank, Demerara Bank Limited, Citizens Bank Limited, Gafoors Group of Companies, Courts Furniture Store and the North American Life Insurance Company. Also among the exhibitors are the Kissoons Group of Companies, Oriental Furniture Store, Home Design and Engineering Associates, Canadian Caribe Construction, Narine’s Investment, Z and H Investments, R Tech Design and Construction, S and A Associates, Eyes on the Ground Agency, TriStar Unit, and Frontline Hardware Store.
The expo will be open from 11am to 10pm today and tomorrow and from 11am to 3pm on Monday. Admission is free.