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The Ministry of Water and Housing will host the 18th Conference of Ministers and High Level Authorities on Housing and Urbanisation in Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI), in July. Themes for the conference are: 'Financing Social Housing in view of the World Economic Crisis', and 'Housing in Risky Situations'. Presidency of the conference was officially transferred to Jamaica at...

Approximately 40 residents of Prickly Pole in the Caulderwood Division of South East St. Ann, were presented with free water tanks on April 17, which will enable them to store water for domestic use. The tanks were distributed by the St. Ann Parish Council under its black tank project. "This is actually our second set being distributed," Secretary / Manager...

Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, is appealing to employees within the public utilities sector, to be protective of its infrastructure. This, he says, is with a view to being in a position to grasp opportunities when the current economic downturn comes to an end. Pointing to an efficient utilities sector as one that is critical to the...

Several minor water supply systems in rural St. Catherine are to be rehabilitated by the St. Catherine Parish Council, with over $4 million secured from the European Union (EU) to help execute the programme. This was announced by Mayor of Spanish Town, Dr. Andrew Wheatley, at the official commissioning into service of the Pear Tree Grove minor water supply on...

The Rural Water Supply Project has received an allocation of $70 million, as outlined in the Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project, which began in April 2002, aims to improve the basic sanitary/health conditions by increasing the coverage of potable water and sanitation services in poor rural areas as defined in the Jamaica Poverty Map...

The Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) Water Supply Project has received a boost of $1.3 billion in the 2009/10 Budget. The project aims at providing an improved water supply system to the KMA, which includes Greater Spanish Town, South East St. Catherine and Kingston and St. Andrew, to keep pace with the rapid industrial and housing developments in these areas. A...

Residents of Pear Tree Grove and adjoining communities in north-eastern St. Catherine are the beneficiaries of a potable water supply system, which will be officially commissioned into service Friday (April 8). The system, which will benefit in excess of 200 households, was originally contracted by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) some 10 years ago at a cost of $6.2...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Water and Housing, Everald Warmington, has been elected President of the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT) for the period 2009 to 2011. Mr. Warmington said that he will use his position to focus the UN body on the needs of countries in Latin American and the Caribbean, including...

It is said that the first wealth is health, and with the Government's plan to have the country achieve developed country status by 2030, the Ministry of Health and Environment (MOHE) is moving to ensure that all Jamaicans are healthy by then. As part of this thrust, the ministry has already embarked on a transformation and restructuring programme to ensure...

Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, broke ground today (April 1) for the construction of 56 townhouses in Stadium Gardens, Kingston. Construction of the housing units, which is being facilitated by the Housing Agency of Jamaica Limited (HAJ), formerly the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC), begins this month and will last for one year. It is the second...

As the Ministry of Water and Housing makes long term plans to commence a comprehensive programme of shelter starts in Jamaica, some residents of Olympic Way in Olympic Gardens, in Kingston, have benefitted from the construction of 16 units in their community. The Ministry is also in the process of developing 60 townhouses in Stadium Gardens, in the Corporate Area,...

Mortgagors of the National Housing Trust (NHT), who are laid-off from their jobs, can apply for temporary relief on loan payments from the agency. The home financing agency offers a mortgage moratorium, which is a temporary suspension of monthly loan payments for between three and 24 months. The total moratorium period does not exceed 12 months at the first instance....