MAY PEN, Clarendon — Managing director of Gore Developments Christopher Gore has indicated that his company’s goal is to create affordable, quality housing with land space, in the latest scheme in the parish.

“There is a demand for affordable houses with all associated infrastructure — including water, roads, utilities and recreation. The first phase of the project will consist of 564 stand-alone residential units on lands owned by Gore Developments Limited.

“The second phase will be developed on lands currently owned by the Government of Jamaica through the NHT [National Housing Trust] which, when constructed, will consist of an additional 1,500 low-income housing solutions which will consist of one- and two-bedroom stand-alone units,” Gore said at a ground-breaking ceremony on Friday for 2,064 houses in Longville Meadows at an estimated cost of just over $25 billion.

This is in keeping with the Government’s thrust to increase the housing stock through public-private partnerships.

The houses will be available to NHT contributors in Clarendon and surrounding areas, and ties with the Government’s efforts to boost the housing stock and provide homes for low-income earners.

Speaking during the ceremony, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said over the last nine years his Government has started work on 29,681 housing units.

“On average this means that we would have built 3,298 housing starts per year under this Administration when compared to the previous nine years — four of which was under the Portia Simpson Miller Administration, and another four and a half under the Bruce Golding-led Administration from 2008-2016.

“Those two would have started 18,939 housing units for an average 2,104 housing starts each year. On average, under this Administration we have 57 per cent more housing starts — and housing starts are a good measure of how a country is performing. We have increased expenditure on housing by 79 per cent,” said Holness.

He added the NHT has 8,353 units under construction, 12,207 under procurement, and another 10,598 in the design and planning stages. This, the prime minister said, will put the country ahead of the demand curve for housing in the near future.

“Previous governments did not want to take on the heavy lifting of moving ahead of demand for housing. Today, we have systems that the consequences are informality, criminality, environmental degradation, inefficiency and lack of productivity. We cannot continue with that so we are going to invest in building out. None of the houses we have built has been built with any form of borrowing,” added Holness.

According to Holness, the Longville Meadows development is a bold, strategic investment in housing, in infrastructure and, “most importantly, in the dignity and future of the Jamaican people”.

“What we are doing here… is turning a new page for thousands of families who will soon have a safe, secure, and modern place to call home. We’re also reaffirming our Government’s unwavering commitment to providing affordable housing opportunities and driving structured and sustainable development across Jamaica.”

The prime minister said the houses will be supported by a full suite of critical infrastructure, including proper roads with traffic signage, a potable water system, reliable electrical grid, storm water drainage system, and centralised sewage treatment facility.

“Every home we build takes a family out of uncertainty and into stability. Every home we build moves a family from poverty to prosperity. It is no accident that this ground-breaking is taking place here in Clarendon. With its strategic location between Kingston and Mandeville and its growing population and commercial activity, Clarendon is ripe for structured development. Through this project and others we are making sure that Clarendon becomes a magnet for new investment and a model for sustainable growth,” Holness said.

Christopher Gore, managing director, Gore Developments, speaking during Friday’s ground-breaking for 2,064 houses in Longville Meadows, Clarendon, at an estimated cost of just over $25 billion.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness speaking during the ground-breaking for 2,064 houses in Longville Meadows, Clarendon, on Friday.