WORK is to begin before the end of this month on 16 decades-old National Housing Trust (NHT) schemes across six parishes at a cost of $813 million, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced in his budget presentation yesterday.

The upgrading programme will target NHT schemes built between 1976 and 1986, and includes schemes in Kingston and St Andrew; Westmoreland, Portland, St Ann, St James, St Mary, and St Elizabeth.

The schemes include Grant’s Pen, Cooreville, Brook Valley, Hemmingway, and Sherlock Crescent in Duhaney Park, and Avalon Courts Phase II, all in Kingston and St Andrew; Farm Heights, and Pitfour in St James, Lower Works and Jerusalem in St Elizabeth; Seville Housing scheme in St Ann; Gayle and Bariffe Hall in St Mary; Woodstock and Anchovy in Portland; and Betheltown and Colluden in Westmoreland.

He said the housing scheme upgrade programme began under his directive in 2017 and was extended to include housing schemes built by the Ministry of Housing prior to 1986.

The priority focus areas for the upgrading are disaster mitigation works inclusive of river training, sewage, water, roadways, kerbs and other infrastructure. The NHT has partnered with other government agencies, including the National Works Agency, the National Water Commission and the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, and the municipal corporations to complete the works.