Government has signed J$1.05 billion (US$6.6 million) in contracts to begin construction of 268 semi-permanent housing units for families severely affected by Hurricane Melissa.
The contracts, signed this week, form part of the Shelter Recovery Programme (SRP), with the initial phase targeting Westmoreland and St Elizabeth.
DT Brown Construction Limited will build 143 units in Westmoreland, while Southland Construction Limited will build 125 units in St Elizabeth.
The housing solutions will include National Housing Trust (NHT) two-bedroom semi-permanent units and Chinese-built semi-permanent structures.
The project is scheduled for completion within 12 months, with tangible results expected within the first two months.
Minister with Responsibility for Land Titling and Settlements, Robert Montague, described the initiative as a beacon of hope for families severely affected by Hurricane Melissa.
‘At the end of today, the success will be measured when a child has somewhere safe to lay their head, and [a place] to do their studies rather than [living] in a classroom or in a hurricane shelter. We want to move our people out of the shelters into their homes,’ Montague said.
He was speaking during the contract-signing ceremony at the ministry’s offices in New Kingston.
Montague said the project is being implemented in collaboration with the National Housing Trust, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.
He said the Ministry of Labour and Social Security provided the names of beneficiaries after needs were verified.
‘We tried to do everything to ensure that the needy were the recipients, and not the greedy. We also have to balance the expectation with [observance] of the fiscal guardrails, the governance protocols and to make sure that, at the end of the day, everything is accounted for,’ Montague said.
The minister also announced that the government has entered the procurement phase for the next component of the project, which will cover Hanover, St James and Trelawny.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, Arlene Williams, said advancing the project marks a significant step in the government’s response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in western and southwestern Jamaica.
‘At the end of the day, the true measure of this programme will not be the contracts signed today. It will be what happens in the communities when families are able to move into safe, suitable housing and begin to rebuild their lives with greater confidence,’ she said.
Members of Parliament representing the beneficiary constituencies attended the signing ceremony and thanked the government for advancing the project.
They also voiced hope for its swift implementation, paving the way for the timely rollout of subsequent phases.