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Progress on the various housing initiatives was addressed by members of the Emergency Housing Committee during their monthly meeting on Tuesday (March 8). The Agency for Reconstruction and Development Inc. (ARD) welcomed members of the Committee to its new office in the Botanical Gardens, hosting the meeting for the first time. As we move from the emergency housing phase into longer term human settlement planning, the role of the ARD will become more critical, according to Mr. Franklyn Michael, ARD International Recovery specialist focusing on Housing Issues addressed during the meeting focused on the infrastructural requirements for the Venezuelan Housing Project in Lacalom, St. Davids, including roads and drainage; distribution under the Materials Grant Programme and the construction of houses for vulnerable families. To date, approximately 750 families have received assistance under the Materials Grant Programme, while more than 70 houses are under construction for vulnerable families. Disbursement of funds to the first 40 recipients under the Soft Loan Scheme for House Reconstruction is expected to begin later this month, under the direction of newly appointed Loans Advisor Mr. David Lander. The Emergency Housing Committee comprises representatives from the ARD, the Housing Authority of Grenada, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Communication, Works and Transport, the Physical Planning Unit of the Ministry of Finance and the Lands and Surveys Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries, as well as the United Nations Development Programme.
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