Some 200 families were allocated house lots in Stewartville and Meten-Meer-Zorg, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) during an outreach at the West Demerara Secondary School on Friday.
The outreach, which was geared towards addressing housing matters in the region, was led by Minister of Housing and Water, Hon. Collin Croal and a team from the Central Housing and Planning Authority. Regional Chairman, Mr. Ishan Ayube and Vice Chairman, Mr. Omesh Satyanand were also present.
During the outreach allottees were allowed to pull their respective lot number and make an initial payment.
Minister Croal in his remarks acknowledged that the exercise is not sufficient to meet the housing demand in Region Three. However, he noted that in the coming weeks, a massive allocation exercise will be held in the region under the Ministry’s flagship ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive.
Region Three has approximately 14,000 pending land applications. In an effort to meet this demand, the Minister said that new lands are being sought after and plans for the construction of some 500 low-income homes are progressing.
Also, approximately $3.4 billion is being expended on infrastructure development at five new housing developments in the region, namely: Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina, Edinburg, Meten-Meer-Zorg and Stewartville. The works include the installation of water supply networks and the construction of access roads, bridges, culverts and drainage networks.
Minister Croal also underscored several incoming government projects for the region, such as the Schoonord, West Bank Demerara to Crane, West Coast Demerara, four-lane highway, which is being executed under the Ministry of Housing and Water. The proposed highway is expected to run 2.4 miles (3.9 kilometres). It will reduce traffic congestion along the West Bank and West Coast Demerara corridors, while at the same time modernising the country’s infrastructure and creating avenues for housing and commercial development.
The region will also benefit from a new Demerara River bridge, as well as, improvements in the education and health sectors.
