Contact: John Emmanuel

Friday, July 27, 2001 – Preparatory work is moving ahead on the site at Carellie which will serve as the new permanent home for Black Mallet/Maynard Hill residents who were displaced by a major land slippage over a year ago.

Giving an update on the relocation project, the Ministry of Planning and Housing said two construction companies were doing the work in an effort to speed things up. The installation of sewer and water mains has already been done and the first section of the road network has been completed. A team of surveyors has also begun sub-dividing lots.

Project coordinator Michael Gittens also noted that the loan agreement with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) was finally signed last week.

He said: “Government was quite generous to come in and assist persons who were affected by the landslide. We were not liable in any way; however,  the Prime Minister and Cabinet took a decision to assist and we’ve been doing so.

Until the Carellie relocation project is completed, displaced residents are living in homes rented by government.

Gittens said the project had not proceeded as quickly as they would have liked because of some unforeseen challenges.

“The Carellie area is quite a difficult area to work with and we had to resubmit the plans. The original subdivision for the area had to be restructured because when we went in, we noticed a number of ravines and areas that had to be dealt with. We are hoping that by October/November all the infrastructure will be in place and we can sit down and begin to finalize packages and getting persons to Carellie,” he said.

Planning and Housing Minister, Hon. Dr. Walter Francois,  and Member of Parliament for Castries East, Hon. Phillip J. Pierre,  will tour the Carellie re-location site on Monday, July 30, 2001, to get a first hand assessment of the work done.

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