Georgetown: Construction of 20 middle-income homes has commenced under the supervision of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in Amelia’s Ward, Linden, Region Ten.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CH&PA, Sherwyn Greaves, visited the mining town on Wednesday, where he engaged with shortlisted applicants.
The CEO stated that over 200 Lindeners have expressed interest in owning one of the units, however 60 have been shortlisted thus far. As such, Wednesday’s exercise was geared towards guiding the applicants on receiving pre-qualification from financial institutions; and other key stages of the homeownership process moving forward.
“Construction of the homes has started and it is our intention to have persons identify their house lots, their houses […] and to ensure they can acquire these houses, as early as possible, and be able to monitor the homes throughout construction,” said Mr. Greaves.
Most of the applicants for the homes are said to be young professionals, including healthcare workers, law enforcement officers and other public and private sector workers. The homes are 600 square feet, two-bedroom elevated units that will cost a total of $7.5 million, inclusive of the cost of the land-$300,000. CEO explained that successful applicants are required to pay CH&PA an initial $660,000, which includes the cost of the land and five (5) per cent of the cost of the home ($360,000).
He further stated that in its bid to foster affordable home financing, CH&PA has liaised with several banks, to provide additional funding for applicants.
“We have engaged the New Building Society, the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry and Demerara Bank, who have agreed to give preferential interest rates for those persons who want loans. They have also reduced the legal fees by half and waived other fees and charges,” the CEO told the potential homeowners.
He stated that while the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry and Demerara Bank do not currently offer services in the region, CH&PA is also in discussions with Republic Bank.
Construction of the first twenty homes started some weeks ago, following an announcement by His Excellency, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, earlier in the year, for a 1000 homes project in Linden.
CEO Greaves said that these 40 homes are the first stage of meeting the President’s commitment and another 50 homes will be constructed before the end of the year. Following the outreach, he visited the site where the homes are being constructed to inspect the level of works. In addition to the homes, CH&PA is also undertaking several infrastructure projects in Amelia’s Ward, Wisroc and Watooka, Region Ten.
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