Another 200 homes to be constructed under hinterland housing project

[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) has been able to obtain a further US$3.1M to expand the Hinterland Housing pilot project, which was a component under the Government of Guyana (GOG)/ Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Second Low Income Settlement Programme.

Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott, told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the project profile is currently being finalised for approval by the IDB.

He said that this new Project will see the construction of approximately 200 more houses in the hinterland. The homes will have rainwater harvesting systems and work is expected to commence early in 2016, the Minister said.

The Hinterland Housing project was started in 2009 and is aimed at providing housing for vulnerable hinterland households through a community partnership approach, involving novel participatory approaches to project design and the actual provision of affordable housing.

The objective of the pilot was to address the housing needs of eight communities in Regions One and Nine and was supported by a subsidy arrangement involving the disbursement of 208 subsidies for the completion of 500sq. ft houses and the replacement of defected roofs with zinc roofs, complete with a rainwater harvesting system.

The successes of the Hinterland Housing Project include, reduced overcrowding in hinterland homes, improved access to safe drinking water for hinterland households, improved sanitary conditions for hinterland families, increased social cohesion within participating communities.

It also includes employment for over 100 persons in participatory communities, reduction in labour intensive work on women, overall improvement in improved housing conditions of hinterland households and, mutual learning between the implementing agency and beneficiary communities.