ST JAMES, Jamaica — Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has announced plans to revamp the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) in order to better meet Jamaica’s evolving housing needs.

Speaking during the handover of a new home to NSHP beneficiary, Beverly Barnaby Moo‑Young in Savanna‑la‑Mar, Westmoreland, on Friday, Holness noted that the immediate priority is the provision of semi‑permanent rapid response shelter solutions.

“All the houses that we have approved to be built, we will build them. [However], going forward, we will have to recraft how the programme works,” he said.

The prime minister highlighted the successes of the NSHP, while noting areas for improvement. He pointed out that the initiative has developed significant capacity for assessing beneficiaries and their needs, as well as managing the construction of houses.

“We have primarily focused on traditional building systems… block and steel. We have used some amount of system build, meaning we’ve used… poured concrete. I think we may have to move towards more prefabricated and pre-construction-type solutions… precast solutions and containerised modular solutions,” he outlined.

Holness also addressed concerns associated with modular housing, including airflow, ventilation and unit size.

“There are concerns [that] the proliferation of them right across the country may not be a good look. These are things that we have to consider when we are thinking about the housing solutions. So we have to integrate technology to make it move faster, and we will have to adapt technology to our own circumstances here so that it fits our people and fits our landscape, so that you can live comfortably,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the prime minister commended the achievements of the NSHP, noting that its units successfully withstood the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa.

“I believe there are two houses which were flooded… but they’re still standing still strong,” Holness stated.

– JIS