March 22, 2023
At the 2023/24 Budget Debate on March 16, Prime Minister, the Hon. Andrew Holness informed that the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) is to undertake the development of 14,000 housing solutions out of the national target of 70,000. To date, the entity has achieved approximately 4,000 housing starts.
The HAJ is projecting 10,000 housing starts and 6,000 deliveries over the next four years. 95 percent of these solutions will be constructed in the parishes of St. Catherine, St. Elizabeth, St James and Trelawny.
Mr. Holness advised that there are several informal settlements in his St. Andrew West Central constituency. After fire destroyed some structures, he used the opportunity to rebuild and regularise the area with the assistance of the National Housing Trust, Jamaica Social Investment Fund, National Water Commission, and HAJ. They were able to clear a half-acre section of the 3½-acre community to construct 24 new housing solutions for the burnt-out victims and those whose houses they decided to replace. In addition, there are many other small informal settlements, which require immediate attention, like the Pauls Lane project.
The first phase of construction has begun and the units are contracted to be completed in a record six months. The government has increased the pace of developing new housing solutions to provide affordable options to all Jamaicans.
In relation to the Bernard Lodge Development, the SCJ [Holdings Limited] has been directed to find alternative sites for those who have come forward to claim the unapproved structures and unplanned housing structures that were being constructed on it.
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