$900M invested as Bartica housing scheme moves closer to occupancy

Residents of Bartica, Region Seven, who were allocated housing units within the Block CHPA Development, are expected to receive their ownership documents soon, paving the way for them to occupy their new homes officially.

Minister of Housing, Collin Croal on Saturday visited the Region Seven housing development where works are ongoing on several housing units under the government’s expanded housing programme.

During a visit to the project site, Croal disclosed that 41 of the 55 housing units have already been completed. The remaining are expected to be finished following the termination and retendering of a previous contract.

There are two types of houses being built in the area: the bungalow roof and V- roof styles.

The bungalow roof units are valued at $13 million each, while the V-roof houses cost approximately $11 million. Each unit consists of three bedrooms along with other amenities.

Overall, approximately $900 million was invested in the housing and infrastructural works being done in the Block CHPA Development.

“It therefore means that for Barticians pending in the system, persons who were interested in the houses now have the opportunity to move onto the final stage,” Croal said.

Croal revealed that the signing of Agreements of Sale and processing of ownership documents are expected to begin shortly for persons already allocated units.

“We have already started allocation on the houses, and within the next two weeks, we have a number of agreements that will be signed as per the pre-approval, pre-qualification from the bank,” he said.

According to Croal, there are still housing units available within the development and residents in Region Seven who previously applied for land are being encouraged to also apply for the houses.

“We still have available houses and so this is an opportunity for pending applicants who are here in Region Seven as part of the pool applying for land, etc, we want to encourage for houses too,” he said.

All local contractors were engaged in the construction of the housing units, Croal said.

“This is something new we have toyed with in terms of building houses here in Bartica and so the response now will determine how much more we can move forward with,” he said.