The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has gone ahead to purchase the first fifty (50) timbre pre-fabricated houses from Guyana. These first set of houses are expected to arrive by the end of March 2023.
These houses range in prices from 16 thousand US to 38 thousand US dollars; one (1) bedroom 333 square feet homes are approximately 16 thousand US dollars; the two (2) bedroom 526 square feet homes are approximately 25 thousand US dollars while the three (3) bedroom 776 square feet homes are approximately 38 thousand US dollars.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said the quality of the houses are such that they can last a lifetime and can withstand up to category 4 hurricanes.
“The idea is to have them certainly grounded in the concrete…. so that we can have perhaps category 4 resilience, certainly they are, but if we can get a category 4 resilience, they are beautifully designed, I think people are going to love them,” Dr. Gonsalves stated.
Funding for the houses will be provided by Demerara Bank of Guyana at a cost of 6 million EC dollars (2.2US) at 7 years at 5 per cent interest rate on the declining balance. “We are bearing the cost as a nation,” Dr. Gonsalves said.
The Prime Minister added that the kind of investment in housing from this government over the last twenty years, is something which is unprecedented. Over 900 houses with varying levels of damage have been repaired and rebuilt since the eruption of la Soufriere.