- Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer
Inner-city housing on Little King Street, Denham Town, Kingston.

Damion Mitchell, News Coordinator, Gleaner/Power 106 FM

The National Housing Trust (NHT) has disclosed that it will cost an additional $6 billion to finance the Government's seven-year Inner-City Housing Project.

The project commenced under the P.J. Patterson administration and was scheduled to cost approximately $9 billion. But speaking recently on 'Real Business' on Power 106 FM, Earl Samuels, managing director of the NHT, said the most recent review indicated that the project cost has now ballooned to $15 billion.

"For us to deliver the 5,000 units originally planned, this is the figure we are looking at," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

According to Mr. Samuels, the hike in the project cost is influenced by several factors that were not included in the previous projections, among them, infrastructure cost and land acquisition.

Private land

"When the programme was conceptualised, it was expected that all land would be provided by the Government, but in some of these areas that we're building, the lands are privately-owned so the property will have to be purchased." he said.

According to the NHT boss, there has also been a significant increase in the price of construction materials, primarily cement. At the same time, he is seeking to assure that the increased cost for the inner-city project will not affect the NHT's housing programme.

On Wednesday, while speaking at the presentation of keys to beneficiaries of houses constructed under the Inner-City Housing Project in Trench Town, south St. Andrew, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said she was ready to face more criticisms from the Opposition over the use of NHT money to benefit the poor.

More details from gov't

Reacting yesterday to reports of the projected cost overrun for the project, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding said he was expecting further details on the matter, but he was concerned about the possible implications.

"The additional cost is likely to put the cost of the houses far beyond the affordability of the target group," he said. He added that already the NHT has been subsiding the inner-city housing units, which could further affect its ability to recover the expenditure.

Locations of inner-city housing schemes