KINGSTON, March 22 (JIS):

The National Housing Trust (NHT) will, in the upcoming financial year, commence construction of 5,737 housing solutions and complete an additional 1,682 in eight parishes across the island.

This was announced by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, who delivered his 2017-18 Budget Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on March 21.

He said the houses will be constructed and completed in St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover and St. James, with the total housing expenditure budgeted at $28.6 billion.

Last year, the NHT indicated that 10,000 solutions, not including Home Improvement and Build-On-Own-Land loans, would be started over a three-year period, ending March 2019. For the 2016-17 year, the agency started approximately 3,060 solutions.  

Mr. Holness said the NHT expects to start some 15,000 housing solutions by 2020.

“I have given the NHT one mandate, (that is to) build houses, and they will build more houses than they have ever built (in their history),” he said.

CONTACT: DENISE DENNIS