13 Core homes handed over to Sophia families.

Thirteen (13) residents of Sophia, Georgetown received the keys, electrical and termite treatment certificates to their spanking new core homes this afternoon.

The keys and certificates were officially handed over by the Hon. Susan Rodrigues Minister within The Ministry of Housing & Water at a simple ceremony in Section ‘D’ Turkeyen, Sophia. Also present were the Deputy Director of Community Development at the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CHPA), Mrs. Donell Bess-Bascom and technical staff attached to CHPA.

The homes were constructed through the US$28 million Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP), funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD) to improve the lives of low-income Guyanese in urban and peri-urban Georgetown through better access to housing and infrastructure.

Minister Rodrigues stated that such projects are important as they support the national housing programme and help to provide affordable housing for vulnerable families. She further stated that the government’s housing drive is placing emphasis on home construction.

“While you see a lot of attention being placed on house lot allocation, the focus is on home ownership as it should be, helping people to get into their own home,” she said.

Each core home is a single-family unit measuring about 400 square feet, with concrete blocks for outer walls and floors, basic doors, windows, electrical wiring, water connections etc. The units are designed to meet basic standards that a family can move into and affordably expand over time. Each beneficiary is only required to contribute a sum of $100,000 towards the cost of the home. The termite treatment certificate is valid for five (5) years, while the electrical certificate is valid for 10 years.

Some $191.6 million was allotted for the construction of core homes in Sophia and eighty (80) beneficiaries were selected from the area. So far thirty-five (35) core homes were constructed with twenty-one (21) already handed over.

Photos: Department of Public Information (DPI)