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Author: MEGJC Editor

Montague to embark on Project SHELTER in Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation

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Hon Robert Montague, Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job creation has announced that he will be providing oversight to the Housing, Land and Urban Renewal Portfolios.

During a meeting on Tuesday January 25, with Senior Directors and Heads of Agencies of the Ministry, the Minister also advised that Prime Minister Holness has given him responsibility for oversight for special national projects.  These include; Vernamfield Airport Development, JISCO Industrial Economic Zone and delivering on the government’s commitment to provide 70,000 affordable housing solutions .

 “ As the new Minister with oversight responsibility, my mission will be as it was in my previous post – to better the lives of the citizens of Jamaica .To this end we will embark on Project SHELTER. ” 

SHELTER ,which is an acronym for savings, housing, employment, land titling, training, economic recovery and repairs to home,  will see the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation placing added focus on skills training for more young people, particularly in areas that benefit construction.

“More certified, skilled workers is big on my list of priorities .There is a concern that the construction industry does not  have sufficient certified skilled employees in order to deliver on the government’s ambition for housing , infrastructure growth and urban renewal . We are facing a critical lack of skills in some key areas just as the economy is starting to pick back up and this Ministry in partnership with the HEART Trust/ HOPE Programme will lead the drive for a ‘skills to build strategy’ which is nationally promoted and locally delivered”,the Minister said

“Our Government made a commitment in 2020 to provide 70,000 affordable  housing solutions and issue 20,000 land titles to Jamaicans who have legitimate claims to land that they have occupied, cultivated and used for generations.  Over the next few months, we must identify low cost land to be used in our housing programme to take us one step closer to realizing the right to housing for more families in Jamaica” he added.

Minister Montague noted that the tasks ahead are enormous. “They range all the way from; (i) Passing amendments to the Real Estate Act and Rent Restriction Act, (ii) to tackling the root causes of squatting and displacement,(iii) to identifying low cost lands that can be used to provide more affordable housing solutions. However, am confident that we assembled the right team at the right time to drive this mission” Minister Montague continued.

Minister Samuda to represent Jamaica at the Special Session of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Senator, the Hon. Matthew Samuda, Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, will depart the island today (January 26, 2022), for Costa Rica, where he will represent Jamaica at the Special Session of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The special session will be held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Forum of Ministers of Environment on January 27 and 28, 2022, which in turn, is being held in tandem with the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

It will be held under the Presidency of the Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, Mrs. Andrea Meza, and will seek to increase regional cooperation in the face of worldwide threats posed by climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Minister Samuda stated “issues of environmental protection and climate mitigation require coalition and partnership. As such I’m looking forward to engagement with colleague ministers as we work together for the common good”.

Additionally, it will serve to gain regional perspectives ahead of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) which will be held from February 28, to March 2,  2022.

The Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean was established in 1982 and is one of the oldest bodies for environmental authorities in the region.

Minister Samuda will be accompanied to the Special Session in Costa Rica by Ms. UnaMay Gordon, Principal Director in the Climate Change Division of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

Low-Cost Housing Design Competition Winners Announced

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Prime Minister Andrew Holness speaking with the first place awardees in the Low-Cost Housing Design Competition. Awardees pictured (L-R): Fitzroy McIntosh, Roni-Kaye McLaren, Suzette Adams–Rickards, and Zane Finnikin. (Photo:JIS)

The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation has announced the winners in the Low-Cost Housing Design Competition.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony held on Tuesday, November 23.

The Competition, which was launched on May 7, closed on August 31 with a submission of three hundred and five applications (305).

Local architects, engineers, builders, and students of the built environment were called upon to submit low cost, sustainable, climate resilient architectural designs for the housing solutions which will be used as models for the New Social Housing Programme.

Of the three hundred and five applications received, forty-three (43) submissions met the full competition requirements and advanced to the Judging Panel.

The winners for the four categories are:


One Bedroom
‱ First Place – Richard Gazader
‱ Second Place – Anissa Blake
‱ Third Place – Michael James

Two Bedrooms
‱ First Place – Zane Finnikin
‱ Second Place – Ryan Gentles, Kelli-Rae Ashley, Leslie Gordon, Giovanni McEachron, Derron Barnett
‱ Third Place – Keisha Daley, Atrao Walker, Dave Hylton, Stephan Rampair

Three Bedrooms
‱ First Place – Fitzroy McIntosh
‱ Second Place – Glenford Henry
‱ Third Place – Dennis Douglas

Multi Family Unit
‱ First Place – Mlela Matandara-Clarke, Deon Clarke, Roni-Kaye McLaren, Suzette Adams–Rickards
‱ Second Place – Sheldon Duncombe, Wai Leung NG
‱ Third Place – Janoy Evans

The winning designs in each category were awarded $1Million for first place $500,000 for second place and $250,000 for third place. The Ministry also awarded four honourary mentions at $50,000 per recipient across three categories.

The winning models, from the Competition, will be incorporated in future designs for housing solutions to be built under the New Social Housing Programme.

The New Social Housing Programme seeks to provide shelter for indigent and vulnerable Jamaicans currently living in substandard conditions.

 

Prime Minister Hands Over Housing Units To South Trelawny Families

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Three families residing in communities in Southern Trelawny are grateful and happy today as they have been provided with stable, safe, and decent shelter under the Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, officially handed over the three-bedroom units in Albert Town, Ulster Spring and Battersea District on Friday July (2)….

PM Holness Hands Over Another Unit Under The Social Housing Programme

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Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Wednesday (July 14) visited the community of Quarry in St. James to hand over the keys to a new home under the Government’s new Social Housing Programme.

Mr. Holness presented the keys to indigent resident, Marva Mason, who along with her four children have had their living conditions improved through a new three-bedroom house….

Low-Cost Housing Design Competition

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Overview

As part of efforts to ensure that all Jamaicans achieve their fullest potential through, inter alia, effective social protection, the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) was implemented in July 2019 by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), to improve the housing condition of the country’s indigent population.  The NSHP aims to provide quality, affordable and sustainable housing and associated services for the indigent and other vulnerable persons currently living in sub-standard conditions and is underpinned by a number of strategic objectives to include: sustainable, low cost housing stock of the highest quality, which adheres to all health, safety and environmental standards.

It is within this context that the MEGJC extends an invitation for eligible individuals to submit low cost, sustainable, climate resilient architectural designs, for the houses to be built under the NSHP.

HOW TO APPLY/PARTICIPATE:

  • Email your queries and Competition Application Form to lowcosthousingdesign@megjc.gov.jm
  • Next Steps: Please read page two (2) of the Competition Document below for additional steps on how to participate in the Competition.

Forms & Supporting Documents

Jamaican Architects Encouraged to Submit Designs for Low Cost Housing Competition

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WRITTEN BY: AINSWORTH MORRIS – JAMAICA INFORMATION SERVICE

The Government is calling on Jamaican architects to submit creative, original, resilient and low-cost housing designs, through the Low Cost Housing Design Competition, which can be used as a model for the nation’s social housing programme.


The competition was launched virtually on Friday (May 7) by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness.
It forms part of the social housing aspect of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme.


“The genesis of this project was indeed the success of the competition that was launched for the design of our [new] Parliament [building],” the Prime Minister said.
“What we are trying to do is to get the architectural community, the planning community, and the environmental community to take the vast knowledge that exists, both globally and of local circumstance, and infuse it into practice to solve real world problems,” he added.


The Prime Minister said solutions that do not win will help the Government with having knowledge of solutions that are there from research and academia.
“The Government will take that application and put it through our bureaucracy and then have it implemented,” Mr. Holness said.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Audrey Sewell, gave an overview of the competition and its requirement.
“Given the high demand, there is need to optimise our limited financial resources to get the best value at the least cost. It is against this background that at the inception of the programme, the Prime Minister gave the directive for the Low Cost Housing Competition to be launched,” Mrs. Sewell said.

“It is open to all Jamaicans, whether they live here or overseas. Of course, those who are residing overseas will have to prove that they are Jamaicans. We are especially targeting engineers, architects, builders and students from the built environment, but we are not limiting the competition to those categories, so once you feel that you meet the requirements, we are encouraging you to enter,” she added.


Submissions may be done individually or in teams with a maximum of five persons. Competitors are encouraged to conceive new and original design concepts that are low cost and sustainable.
Designs should accommodate persons who are disabled, should demonstrate climate resilience and be adaptable to the various terrains to be found islandwide.


Entries will be accepted in four categories: one, two and three bedroom units and multi-family unit.
The Government will offer a prize of $1 million for the winner, $500,000 for the second place, and $250,000 for the third place in each of the four categories.

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Work On Boundbrook Industrial Estate To Begin In Second Quarter

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WRITTEN BY: ROCHELLE WILLIAMS- JAMAICA INFORMATION SERVICE

Construction of the Boundbrook Industrial Estate in Portland is expected to commence in the second quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.

Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Everald Warmington,  made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2021/22 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 5.

He said that the works will be conducted in two phases over a 24-month period.

Under the project, the Government plans to utilise lands owned by the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) and the National Insurance Fund (NIF) in Boundbrook, Portland, to facilitate the relocation of 11 government agencies.

“The construction budget is estimated to cost $1 billion. There will be a return on investment through lease/rentals,” Minister Warmington said.

The Boundbrook project is a joint venture between the FCJ and the NIF and will involve the buildout of 100,000 square metres of factory space to house government and private-sector entities.

“A feasibility study has been completed and has indicated that significant value can be created for the people of Port Antonio and the surrounding areas with this development,” Minister Warmington told the House.

A contract was signed in February 2021 with GW Associates Consultants to commence detailed development drawings in alignment with the conceptual drawings that were previously approved.

Meanwhile, Mr. Warmington told the House that detailed designs for the development of the Naggo Head Technical Park in Portmore, St. Catherine, and the redevelopment of the Hayes Free Zone in Clarendon will be finalised during the fiscal year.

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