Jamaica shelter sector support

Jamaican entities will implement the project. Under the ADP, 1,500 low-income solutions will be built during Phase I by private builders in a three-pronged program of: 700 starter home units (1 room, kitchen, bath) in Kingston and surrounding urban areas, with financing provided by the National Housing Trust (NHT) or the Caribbean Housing Finance Corp. (CHFC); 450 starter houses on private rural and periurban sites financed by the GOJ"s Building on Own Land (BOL) program; and 350 new low-cost solutions (serviced sites, shell houses) designed and financed through a New Solutions program design and marketing competition. During Phase II, another 180 solutions will be built, and the participation of private developers and sponsor groups will be extended to financing and marketing of housing units. Under a Ministry of Construction (Housing) -MOC(H)- program, some 1,300 squatter settlements will be upgraded in Phases I and II, with freehold titles awarded to the lowest-income families. In Phase II, infrastructure for low-income areas will be designed and built in connection with project 5320090. To reactivate Jamaica"s secondary mortgage market, the Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB) will use project and counterpart Economic Support Fund monies to purchase 300 additional mortgages and to participate in mortgage pools with the CHFC, the MOC(H), and the Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League (JCCUL). In phase II, funds will be provided for 450 low-income mortgage loans for JCCUL members. Three resident advisors (funded under Project 5320067) will help the MOC(H) and other GOJ entities implement the project and upgrade housing policy. Expected outcomes are creation of an MOC(H) secretariat for housing policy and planning, closer MOC(H)/NHT/CHFC coordination in housing finance, and more efficient housing production. Amendment of 9/18/85 expands the private sector role in low-cost housing by making up to $10 million available through commercial banks; private sector activity will be promoted in: constructing "Start-a-home" one-room houses (financed through an innovative mortgage plan); upgrading squatter settlements; increasing sale of serviced lots and access to building materials or home construction loans; and coordinating infrastructure improvements in selected low-income Kingston neighborhoods. The public sector"s operations and administration role will be streamlined. (PD-AAS-071)