A total of 177 housing units have been constructed under the Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), with an additional 57 under construction.

Arlene Williams, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, who made the disclosure, said the programme is one of several critical priority areas of the ministry that are designed to transform and improve the lives of Jamaicans.

“This is the first ever in the history of this country we are working together as a team to ensure that we transform the lives of the ordinary man or woman on the street, so they know what we are about and how they can benefit from the various services that we offer,” she said.

For his part, Senator Matthew Samuda said the ministry is committed to exceeding its targets across all its portfolios.

“We are going to ensure that where we pave 100km of road this year, we pave [more]. Where the Port Authority has expanded, we are going to ask them to expand even more, and we are going to ensure that we hit the Prime Minister’s target of 70,000 houses,” the minister said.

He added that the steps are being taken to ensure that every investment under evaluation comes to Jamaica, providing quality employment that people deserve.