IDB assists in housing Suriname´s poorest

The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a US$15 million loan to provide housing solutions to approximately 3,000 Surinamese households, both along the coast and in the country’s interior, the IDB said Tuesday in a news release.

The programme will address the two key problems in the housing sector-low-quality housing stock and lack of affordable housing for low income groups. According to the release, it will do so by supporting coordination efforts by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing.

The financing will allow people who cannot afford traditional mortgage loans to access financing for new housing or improve an existing solution by providing a single upfront subsidy of US$3,000. It will also pilot projects to provide residential land and/or a housing solution at prices that are affordable to low income households.

Suriname’s current housing policy and programmes focus primarily on middle-income groups, the release noted, and its population faces limited access to land, titling and registry.

The proposed programme will reach families in the bottom 40% of the income distribution who are currently underserved by public housing programmes.

By the end of the five-year project, it is expected that more than 1,000 of the poorest families in the country will have a new house and 2,000 will rehabilitate or expand their home. The project will also make the allocation of subsidies more efficient.

The loan is for a 25-year term, with a five-year disbursement and grace period, and carries a Libor-based interest rate.

The Suriname Govern-ment will provide US$314,000 in local counterpart funds, the release added.