THE NATIONAL Housing Development Corporation (NHDC), in its continuing drive to satisfy the mandate from the Government of Jamaica to provide affordable housing solutions to its beneficiaries, recently facilitated the signing of an agreement between the Bushy Park Provident Society and contractors, Ashtrom Building Systems.
The contract signing took place recently at the agency's Caledonia Road offices with the contractor being instructed to commence work on June 20, 2003, in accordance with the conditions of the contract.
The project was tendered through public advertisement appearing in the newspaper. Ashtrom Building Systems, the successful tenderer, has agreed to a contract period of one year with the period ending June 21, 2004, providing their services for a contract sum of $128,930,000.
Located approximately 1.2km from the township of May Pen on 83 acres of prime residential lands, the Bushy Park Scheme consists of 473 lots with sizes ranging between 220 to 1165 square metres with an average lot price of $353,452.33.
The development will be serviced with paved roadways having double surface dressing, water supply distribution system, storm water drainage system, sewage collection system, sewage treatment plant and electricity supply.
The Managing Director, Milverton Reynolds, speaking at the signing ceremony, indicated that the total cost of the project is $167,182,952.63 and includes professional services for both pre and post contract services for the professionals employed on the project.
Mr. Reynolds explained that members of the Provident Society and beneficiaries of the development are primarily professionals such as teachers, nurses, policemen and other public sector workers. Noting that most of the beneficiaries are contributors to the National Housing Trust (NHT) and will therefore be getting financing from the NHT to complete the purchase of their lots, he urged those NHT qualified beneficiaries to go into the NHT to complete arrangements for the purchase of their lots.
He further explained that the project was conceived and developed under the Operation PRIDE Programme and that Bushy Park is part of the agency's strategy to alleviate the chronic housing shortage in the country in general and in the parish in particular.
