The government of SVG signs a $6 million loan agreement with Demerara Bank Ltd.
On January 20th, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines signed a $6 million EC loan agreement with Demerara Bank Ltd. (Guyana) at 5% interest on the declining balance for the purchase of fifty (50) pre-fab houses from Guyana.
This first set of houses is expected to arrive by the end of March 2023.
These houses range in price from 16 thousand US dollars to 38 thousand US dollars. The one-bedroom, 333-square-foot homes are approximately 16 thousand US dollars; the two-bedroom, 526-square-foot homes are approximately 25 thousand US dollars; and the three-bedroom, 776-square-foot homes are approximately 38 thousand US dollars.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said the quality of the houses is such that they can last a lifetime and can withstand up to category 4 hurricanes.
“The idea is to have them certainly grounded in concrete so that we can have perhaps category 4 resilience; certainly they are; but if we can get category 4 resilience, they are beautifully designed, and I think people are going to love them,” Dr. Gonsalves stated.
During his official visit to Guyana earlier this month, Prime Minister Gonsalves visited the DurvaVilla apartments and low-income houses in Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
Gonsalves praised Guyana’s affordable housing program as a great initiative and called it impressive, stating that the cost of the units is among the best in the region.
The houses are part of the work to fix up the island after the volcano erupted in 2021.
Ernesto Cooke
Ernesto is a senior journalist with the St. Vincent Times. Having worked in the media for 16 years, he focuses on local and international issues. He has written for the New York Times and reported for the BBC during the La Soufriere eruptions of 2021.
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