Foreigners want to build homes in TT

HOUSING DEVELOPERS from as far away as Taiwan are banging on the National Housing Authority’s (NHA) door to build houses in Trinidad and Tobago.

This was revealed by NHA executive director Noel Garcia when he spoke at a breakfast meeting of financial institutions at the TT Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Westmoorings yesterday. Garcia expressed concern that local housing contractors, particularly smaller ones, appear not to be receiving any help from the banks and that banks wanted a Government guarantee before giving them assistance. 

He revealed that while this was going on, developers from Taiwan, Sweden, Venezuela, Italy and Israel have been asking the NHA for permission to construct houses in TT and have indicated that they would be “walking with their own financiers.” Garcia appealed to the banks to give some leeway to contractors with respect to the collateral they (banks) want or there would be a housing programme in TT “which bears no semblance” to a local housing programme.

The NHA director also revealed that were it not for a $300 million bond from the Finance Ministry, the housing programme for 2003 would not have gotten off the ground and the programme would require “a little under $1 billion” for 2004. RBTT CEO Suresh Sookhoo assured Garcia that the NHA would receive the type of financial assistance it required. Udecott chairman Calder Hart agreed with Garcia and said it was clear that Government was not constructing “high-rise ghettos” and its housing programme was sustainable. He said people must remember the programme has a ten-year scope and their was a fundamental need to change “the appetite and attitude” of TT’s financial institutions towards housing.

Also at yesterday’s meeting, Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley assured Police Credit Union (PCU) president Fitzroy Frederick that the housing needs of police officers would be addressed.  Frederick told Rowley that while the PCU submitted the names of police officers seeking homes to the Police Administration, it was not in a position to provide finance for housing.