BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, November 26, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is aiming to distribute fifteen recently constructed homes at Estridge Housing Project Extension in December, 2021.
The homes earmarked for distribution are the first 15 of 50 “petrocasas”, which literally translates to oil houses, being donated to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, under the Petrocaribe arrangement.
As part of the activities organized in observation of his 28th anniversary as the elected representative for St. Christopher Seven, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris visited the housing project where he was given a brief tour of one of the completed homes by General Manager of PDV St. Kitts-Nevis Ltd., Maria Colmenares.
Delivering brief remarks, Prime Minister Harris said, “Originally, the intention was to use materials produced in Venezuela. Of course, when it came here some of them did not fit well with our cultural preferences, and of course meant that we had to incur additional expenses to get them to where we want.”
“These buildings are structurally sound, structurally safe, and I want to thank the project manager, Calvin Pemberton, and the other project manager from the point of view of Petrocaribe…for their inspection of these facilities and they are now ready to be handed over,” Dr. Harris said, as he expressed profound gratitude on behalf of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis to the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Ms. Colmenares said this contribution of 50 petrocasas homes represents her government’s willingness to assist in the development of St. Kitts and Nevis.
She noted that the project also included paving of the roads, installation of electricity and other essential services in the area, adding that “The idea of this is to upgrade the standard of living of the people because that is our most important mission here.”
Petrocasas are constructed from by-products of Venezuela’s oil refining industry. PVC panels are fitted together on a concrete base then filled with concrete, steel and iron girders to make the petrocasas.
The Government is expecting to have a high-level official of the Venezuelan government in the Federation to participate in the handing over ceremony. The actual day for the handing over ceremony will be announced at a later date.
