More than 100 acres of land at Five Miles, Bartica, is to be developed for 600 house lots
Minister of Housing Irfaan Ali and a team of officials inspected the site on Monday, and according to the Government Information Agency (GINA) a team of surveyors were expected to be on location yesterday to complete the block survey.
The site visit followed on the heels of a visit by President Bharrat Jagdeo, who had committed to expanding the current housing programme to Region Seven despite the challenges due to the topography of the area.
The expansion of the housing sector in Bartica is due to massive developments taking place in the town. Ali said due to the increasing population in the community and the current boom in the mining sector, there is a critical need for housing.
Initially, Seven Miles had been earmarked for the implementation of the programme but due to the contour of the land and the geographical layout, the area had to be abandoned. “This area is far flatter and is more conducive for the housing development,” Ali was quoted as saying. He added, “We are looking to have this area surveyed and to have infrastructure works tendered in six weeks. We are confident that we can pull this project through. I know there are lots of constraints. Looking at it, one may assume the timeframe may be a bit unrealistic, it looks very challenging but we have very competent technical staff and I think we have the drive to get this done.”
Ali also said he was optimistic that work will be completed by September, in order to facilitate the allocation of house lots to Bartica residents.
The minister also noted that one of the challenges encountered in housing development is supplying water and electricity; however, he was confident that this too will be overcome, GINA said.
The area set for development at Five Miles is known for the pine cultivation project.
Meanwhile, Chief Development Planner at the Central Housing and Planning Authority Rawle Edinboro noted that the design of the housing scheme would cater for residential lots and the development of a complete community with all necessary facilities. Also, in keeping with the Low Carbon Development Strategy, the ministry is teaming up with the Guyana Forestry Commission to ensure that there is a minimum amount of damage to the vegetation so that the forest can be preserved while paving the way for other infrastructural developments.
