UDC plots more than 20,000 homes islandwide, half aimed at southwest rebuild

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is pressing ahead with a nationwide drive to deliver more than 20,000 housing units, framed as a push for affordable shelter and post-hurricane recovery.

At a recent JIS Think Tank, UDC Chairman Norman Brown said the push will sit alongside the work of other state housing agencies and put more homes on the market in several parishes.

“Presently, our plans are to build in excess of 20,000 houses right across Jamaica in Kingston, St. Catherine, St. Elizabeth and St. Ann,” Brown said.

Roughly 10,000 of those dwellings are destined for southwest Jamaica, where the UDC intends to back reconstruction after Hurricane Melissa left heavy damage.

“We will be using this opportunity in housing to rebuild the southwestern section of Jamaica. That area alone, we are planning to do at least 10,000 houses, and those plans are now far advanced,” he stated.

Brown said the schemes will rise on lands already held by the UDC, which should speed delivery once the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) is fully on its feet.

“That will help us now to move forward with our plans very quickly, so that we can build units so that people can be resettled and get housing opportunities and move on with their lives,” he said.

The programme sits within a broader Government effort to restore neighbourhoods so they are better able to withstand future disasters.

Black River, among the communities worst affected by Hurricane Melissa, is lined up for major redevelopment, including a new urban centre sited further from the coast to cut exposure to extreme weather.

“As you know, Black River was almost ground zero for Hurricane Melissa. The Government is going to be rebuilding in a resilient way. There is going to be a new urban centre in that area, which will be moved a bit away from the shoreline so it has protection from weather events,” he said.