NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 12, 2020) – The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) has signalled its intent to resume the construction of affordable homes, with several housing projects planned across the island.
While speaking at a recent town hall meeting in Bath Village, hosted by the NIA, Hon. Alexis Jeffers, who is the Minister of Lands and Housing, as well as Chairman of the Nevis Housing and Land Development Corporation (NHLDC), gave the assurance that the government remains committed to providing housing for the people of Nevis. The NHLDC has constructed more than 50 homes from a $10 million loan procured from the St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board in 2017.
Mr. Jeffers indicated that the corporation will begin construction of more homes as soon as it can mobilise additional funding from Social Security. The NIA is also seeking to acquire land in certain areas to be used for housing.
“We are waiting on an additional amount of monies due to us from the Social Security Board to continue with the construction of houses here…with construction in Hamilton. I do not believe we have any land available to us in Bath for immediate construction, but we’re still trying to source land.
“We’ve sought to procure additional land in the Craddock Road area and also in the Brown Hill area, so we’ll be constructing additional houses in those areas shortly. We’re still finishing up construction in the Colquhoun area and seeking to buy more land in the Cotton Ground, St. Thomas’ area,” he informed.
According to Minister Jeffers, home construction will continue in St. James’, and plans are in place to construct homes in the Rices area in Gingerland in the near future.
“So all throughout Nevis, there’s housing to be done. As soon as we are able to put our hands on this amount of additional monies that was committed to us, we will be continuing with our housing programme,” he said.
Deputy Premier Jeffers encouraged persons to visit the Ministry of Finance to get the necessary information to utilise the incentives available for construction.
In July, Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier and Minister of Finance, announced a stimulus package for the construction sector, which includes duty-free concessions for residential and commercial construction or renovation.