The government’s Housing Assistance Programme for Indigent People (HAPI) will soon begin constructing concrete homes for vulnerable families as part of an effort to provide more durable housing, Prime Minister Gaston Browne says.

Speaking on the Brown and Brown Show on Sunday, Browne said the programme, which provides free homes to poor and indigent residents, has expanded significantly and is now completing several houses each month.

“We believe that we can do at least 50 HAPI homes per year,” Browne said.

He said the government expects to commission a new block plant within the next 60 days, allowing the programme to transition from wooden houses to concrete structures.

“We hope to commission our new block plant within maybe the next 60 days,” Browne said. “We’ll be building concrete properties for them in the future rather than these wooden properties to make sure that they’re more sustainable.”

Browne said the HAPI initiative is intended to improve the quality of life for residents living in poor conditions by replacing dilapidated homes with modern housing at no cost to recipients.

“So wherever we see people living in squalor, we want to make sure that we give them a leg up,” he said. “The government gives free properties to the very poor and indigent.”

The prime minister contrasted the HAPI programme with the government’s affordable housing initiative, which offers low-cost homes through the National Housing Development and Urban Renewal Company. He said those homes are sold at cost, with the government absorbing infrastructure expenses and waiving duties and taxes on building materials to keep prices affordable.

Browne said both initiatives form part of the government’s broader effort to improve housing conditions and expand homeownership opportunities across Antigua and Barbuda.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: HAPI to Shift From Wooden to Concrete Homes In The Future, Browne Says.