EVALUATION OF AID SHELTER PROGRAMS IN PORTUGAL/LOW-INCOME HOUSING

Special evaluation covers the period 1/75-12/79 and is based on site visits and interviews with FFH and USAID officials. By funding construction of housing for 3,178 families and stabilizing the shelter sector, the project has contributed to the GOP's goal of providing decent housing to low-income families. The first housing guaranty (HG) was initiated in 1975 to fund four (expanded to 14) large, mostly urban, subsidized rental projects. Difficulty was encountered due to rising costs and weaknesses in the public housing planning and delivery systems. Contractor bankruptcy left 1,068 units incomplete, inadequate infrastructure affected 250 units, and legal impediments to land expropriation of land delayed 38 units. As a result, FFH exhausted all A.I.D. and GOP funds and is unable to complete all projects. The only concrete result of the technical assistance (TA) component was the well-received 1979 Housing Finance Seminar. After a crisis in the construction sector and an influx of 700,000 refugees from Angola and Mozambique, a second HG was provided in l976 to fund 57 cooperative, municipal housing authority, and owner's association self-help (SAAL) projects -- a total of 4,753 units. The greater number and variety of projects created added problems, and by late 1979 only 2,694 units were finished and 1,446 occupied. It is recommended that the GOP and/or FFH: (1) give high priority to completing unfinished projects; (2) continue to reform and reorganize the housing delivery system; (3) develop master plans and organize and train staff to meet local needs; (4) review unit size and quality standards to increase projects' cost-effectiveness; (5) incorporate clandestine housing settlements into the national housing system; (6) reevaluate property maintenance and repair; (7) consider reviving abandoned SAAL projects; (8) revitalize the development contract program; and (9) establish a special fund to acquire land suitable for housing projects.