Résidence New Social Living Development Ltd (NSLD) Valetta, comprising 76 housing units over more than five arpents and costing some Rs 208 million, was inaugurated, this afternoon, by the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, and Minister of Tourism, Mr Steven Obeegadoo, the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Liying Zhu, attended the ceremony in the presence of Ministers, Parliamentary Private Secretaries, Members of Parliament, representatives of public departments and local authorities, and other dignitaries.
In his address for the occasion, the Prime Minister stressed that ensuring that each Mauritia
n family had a safe and secure place to live was a priority focus of Government. He was adamant that appropriate housing provided stability and dignity while creating a safe environment for people to thrive and achieve both societal and individual progress.
The Head of Government thus underlined that the batch of 76 housing units was part of the first phase of the implementation of the 12,000 60m2 residential project by the NSLD, aimed at providing a roof to less well-off families. He recalled that the first phase of the NSLD project consisted in the construction of some 8,000 residential units in all the 20 Constituencies of the country. Mr Jugnauth highlighted that the housing projects were designed to provide comfortable living conditions to the future home owners with the supply of various services and amenities such as multipurpose hall, jogging track, children’s playground, photovoltaic panels, and rainwater harvester system.
According to Mr Jugnauth, Government is aware of the efforts and sacrifices
made by Mauritian families to have their own house, and in that context a range of measures had been introduced to help families across different income levels achieve homeownership. These measures are, among others, the exemption from Registration Duty for first time property buyers; the grants for casting of roof slabs and for the purchase of building materials for families with monthly income not exceeding Rs 40,000; the provision of a five percent refund, up to a maximum of Rs 500,000, to those taking a loan to build or purchase a home; and the VAT refund scheme on residential buildings, houses, or flats.
The Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction regarding the execution of the various housing projects with the cooperation of several entities. He pointed out that collaboration between the Government and the private sector was highly effective in addressing challenges faced in areas like affordable housing, infrastructure, and community development, as was the case for the Résidence NSLD Valetta. He a
dded that it was important to offer adequate incentives and opportunities to motivate private sector involvement to public projects.
For his part, the Deputy Prime Minister reiterated that housing is a fundamental human right and that Government is committed to address the housing needs of the population. Following the inauguration of NSLD housing projects in Olivia and Henrietta recently, he informed that around 5,500 houses would be constructed by the end of the year. He indicated that from November 2019 to date, some 3,150 houses had been delivered to their respective owners.
Source: Government of Mauritius