Self-finance housing project on Ile Persévérance Housing minister Charlette satisfied with work quality |21 July 2020

Some of the completed housing units (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

By Patrick Joubert

Construction work being carried out on the 36 units under the self-finance housing project on Ile Persévérance is progressing very well and the minister responsible for housing has expressed her satisfaction at the quality of the work.

Pamela Charlette, Minister for Habitat, Infrastructure and Land Transport (MHILT) was accompanied on yesterday morning’s visit by the principal secretary for infrastructure Yves Choppy, the chief executive of Property Management Company (PMC) Evelina Antha and other senior representatives from MHILT and PMC. The different contractors working on the project were also present.

“I am very satisfied with the level and quality of work on this project put in place especially for people in the middle income bracket. With so much interest shown in the project, I think it is something that we will continue to carry out in the future,” Minister Charlette said.

The ministry has allocated three sites on Ile Persévérance for the construction of 73 units of ground plus one semi-detached of specific designs based on three house models of two or three bedrooms.

Out of the 73 units, 50 have already completed and have already been allocated to their owners who have already started putting their final personalised touches before moving in.

Eight other units to be completed are expected to be allocated to their owners by the end of July. The remaining 15 units which are still under construction will be allocated by September 2020.

The project started in January 2019 and was expected to be completed by December 2019 but it met with unforeseen delays and has been extended to September 2020.

PS Choppy said the construction of the 73 units is costing the government R43 million and that government through its subsidiary programme, has invested R125,000 per unit in terms of infrastructure. He noted that it is the applicants who has to raise the loan for government to build the houses of which the lowest loan raised per unit is R591,000 and the highest R648,000. He added that the next self-financing housing project will take place on Aurore Island.

Self-finance housing products are town houses of specific designs as part of the government’s housing master plan. They are ground plus one structure of two or three bedrooms. The qualified applicants are expected to mortgage the land on which the units are to be built. They are also expected to raise a loan with their banks which then transfer the money to government for the construction of their houses.

A qualified applicant has a choice of design based on available options at the ministry after which the house is constructed in bulk upon completion of all formalities. Such an approach is deemed to have limited risk and a preferred way of providing mortgage for residential projects by the banking sector. The cost of a self-finance unit will depend significantly on project costs based on going rates of construction on government tenders.

One of the contractors, Wilson Nancy, managing director of Turnkey Solutions (Seychelles), said he encountered many challenges to build in what he has termed “a difficult neighborhood”. He claimed that theft of construction materials among other types of vandalism has been rampant.