Social Housing Initiative: Govt eyes prefab, containerised houses to ease housing shortage

The Government is looking to incorporate prefabricated and containerised housing into its social housing initiative as it seeks faster and more efficient ways to meet the country’s growing demand for homes, according to Housing Minister Collin Croal. Croal explained that the containers being considered would not simply be used in their existing form, but would be customised with features including windows, doors and walls to make them suitable for residential use.

He said such housing could help address the pace and scale at which homes are required, provided the structures meet basic requirements for ventilation, circulation and durability. He made the statement during the Guyana Dialogue podcast on Thursday last as sought to explain whether the homes have been certified by the Bureau of Standards to meet minimum standards, and whether they were meant for long-term or short-term use or simply to ease the housing shortage. “So, you have, in terms of, what you may have generally sometimes in some cases, would be the conversion of a container towards…Obviously, it’s remodelled.” According to him, the homes will be equipped with various amenities and features to make them suitable for residential use. “And so, you have [within those container homes], prefab type of containerised houses that we are, in fact, will be on the social programme. But it is customised because you will have to cater for windows. You have the necessary space for walls. You have to cater for the doors, et cetera. So, it is not four walls as in a container, you know, normally it is re customised to the level.” He posited that the structures would be re-customised to the required level.

In some cases, one wall of the container may form one end of the house, while the structure is broadened to accommodate the required space. “And then if it’s because if you’re talking about a normal 600 square feet, then it will be broadened. So, they are customised…once it satisfies the circulation, once it satisfies in terms of ventilation, et cetera, I don’t see anything wrong with it.” Meanwhile, about the approval from the Bureau of Standards, he stated, “I’m not sure. But it’s pretty strong because they’re going on bases. The ones that we are doing, we’re building a base for them. So, you have durability too.” As the Guyana Government continues its aggressive housing development, President Dr Irfaan Ali last month unveiled plans for a new initiative that would target highly vulnerable individuals and families and support them towards homeownership. He made this announcement during a video broadcast on Thursday to speak about his Government’s efforts to further expand the housing sector and create more opportunities for homeownership and community development across Guyana. “We know that social housing is an important part of the housing strategy, and we’re going to build a mechanism through which we’re going to identify highly vulnerable persons within our society. Single mothers – and not only single mothers, but single mothers who are facing specific economic challenges; people living with disabilities; the elderly, and we’re going to have a social housing programme to support [them towards] homeownership,” President Ali had stated. According to Ali, this social housing initiative would see the build-out of approximately 5,000 social homes for vulnerable individuals and families.