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Bureaucracy has prevented it from starting before Christmas as originally planned, yet officials have given the assurance that government's $3.7million ...
Housing Project Still On
Government's $4million housing project is still on stream and should commence early next year instead of December, says Minister of Housing Dr. the Hon. Frank McField.
Dr. Paolo Sanminiatelli (left), Chief Executive Officer of the Italian construction company Vetromeccaniche Investment Limited and the company's managing director Giorgio Sanminiatelli (right) examining plans for Government's housing project outside of the Legislative Assembly on Friday, November 22.
In an interview with Cayman Net News, Dr. McField said bureaucracy was one of the main reasons why the project has been delayed.
"We were talking originally about trying to complete some houses by Christmas. We recognsied from the very beginning that this was very ambitious and that it would mean, in fact, that we would have had to ensure that certain things were working a lot faster including the Government bureaucracy that sometimes drags and drags. That is an important realisation that I have had to make," Dr. McField said.
He said that the Italian company Vetromeccaniche Investment Limited which produces pre-engineered houses, recently received their Local Companies Control Licence (LCCL) which will allow them to work on the project.
"We are at the stage where we are beginning to finalise the details with the building control personnel at the Planning Department so that we know that when the material is finally constructed, it will conform with all of the planning codes of the Cayman Islands," he added.
"Quite a bit of time has been spent ensuring the ability of the houses to withstand winds of 135 miles per hour instead of 90 miles per hour, so that had to be engineered differently."
Dr. Paolo Sanminiatelli Chief Executive Officer of Vetromeccaniche Investment Limited, said they will start importing the material by the start of next year and commence construction in early February.
He said the Cayman Islands government has been very cooperative in ensuring that the project is executed.
"This cooperation will permit us to realise this all-important low-costing housing project," he said Friday prior to a meeting with Dr. McField.
Government's contract with Vetromeccaniche Investment Limited is to build 220 houses, 80 two-bedroom house and 120 two-bedroom and study houses.
The two-bedroom and study units are valued at $60,000 each and the two-bedroom units valued at $48,000. The homes will be fully furnished and can withstand wind loads of 135 miles an hour; a category three hurricane. The units, which were first spotted in Cuba, will be built from ISORGHE / ISOPIANO sandwich panels which are widely used globally with projects in Italy, Spain, Arabia, Colombia, Dominican Republic Republic and Mexico.
The houses will be built on four acres at North Town Courts and on two sites on West Bay totaling 11 acres.