St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says his country is buying ready-made houses from Guyana, more than two years after the La Soufrière volcano erupted, wreaking havoc across the country.
Gonsalves, who is on a four day-official visit to Guyana, visited the DuraVilla housing project, telling reporters that “Kingstown is buying ready-made houses from Guyana to replace what was lost.”
“We are making arrangements to buy and have delivered to us by the end of March, 15 one, two and three-bedroom houses,” Prime Minister Gonsalves said.
The ready-made, wooden houses will be procured from the privately-owned DuraVilla homes and the authorities said St. Vincent and the Grenadines could purchase at least 100 houses with Gonsalves saying Guyana produces impressive, low-cost houses.
“These houses, they are quite elegant and they are also reasonably priced. We will naturally have to do the base and transportation costs…but they are good value for money,” he added.
Gonsalves, who is accompanied by his wife, Eloise, visited the Diamond Housing Scheme on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) and the privately-owned DuraVilla homes.
He said housing is one of his focus areas given the damage his country has been grappling with in the aftermath of the April 2021 eruptions of La Soufrière.
“We lost a lot of houses during the 2021 volcanic eruptions,” Prime Minister Gonsalves noted; with reports indicating that more than 13,000 people were displaced by the eruptions that forced the evacuation of a number of areas nearby.
Prime Minister Gonsalves said with funding secured, the country is keen on rebuilding, and has enlisted Guyana’s help.
He praised both the government and private sectors for their efforts at providing low-cost housing solutions to thousands of people, adding that once Guyana’s needs are met, there is a large Caribbean market for Guyana-made houses.
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