Ex-Chateau Vallon/Ile Perseverance-Housing projects on target |16 February 2007
This was revealed to Seychelles Nation recently by the director general for Large Projects in the Ministry of Land Use and Habitat (MLUH), Brohnson Winslow, following a site visit to these two projects.
Mr Winslow explained that the condominium project, which started in November 2005, is the first in a series of similar projects that are to be undertaken by MLUH to cater for housing needs of the country’s young professionals.
He said that such a project has been given consideration following a number of complaints of a lack of appropriate housing facilities for this particular group of individuals.
The condominiums are to be luxurious in structure and will come in bedsitter style as well as two and three-bedroom apartments.
“It is meant to provide graduates with high quality standard lodging, according to expectations and their chic style of living,” he said, noting that “three-bedroom apartments have been given consideration to make provision for eventualities such as the start or expansion of a family”.
“These apartments will be allocated to both returning graduates as well as those who are already part of the workforce and already have a family,” Mr Winslow said.
Mr Winslow also noted that all 102 units at Chateau Vallon will be tiled and have fully equipped kitchens with aluminium windows and will be sold to occupants, not leased out, with prizes ranging from SR350,000 onwards.
As for the other project on Ile Perseverance, he noted that the venture is “different and complex” as opposed to other large social housing projects that MLUH has undertaken previously.
He said that since the project involves creating a new district with all the necessary facilities and infrastructure such as roads, public utilities, school, commercial centre, recreation facilities and the like, Mr Winslow said that these must be ready before the occupants could move in.
He noted however that the new district will be ready to welcome its inhabitants in four years’ time, in line with the delivery-package target set by government.
“A working group has been set up only for the purpose of seeing to the implementation of road access, water and electricity, school and other communal requirements that should be made available on the island, in order to ensure that the package is delivered as per schedule,” Mr Winslow said.
Commenting on progress made on the project, Mr Winslow noted that 775 units are currently being constructed, which represents a third of the total number of houses that are to be constructed on the island.
He said that following demand by the government to speed up work on the project, MLUH has increased to five the number of contractors currently working on the site.