Thirty-two families displaced by the construction of the international airport in Wesley have been compensated with new homes. According to PM Roosevelt Skerrit, each of the resilient homes cost $400,000 and is far better than the ones demolished by the government. The new homes were constructed in the Joe Burton Housing Development area of Wesley.
PM Skerrit – who toured the housing estate on Thursday – said the government built the houses for the beneficiaries at no cost to them. He said telephone and electricity lines are placed underground to protect the new community from power and communication outage during any storms.
Thirty-two homes were constructed for families affected by the construction of the international airport. We have built these homes for these individuals, no cost to them, and the value of what they received now is way higher than what they had. There are no telephone lines or DOMLEC poles; this entire infrastructure is underground as part of our resilience building. So in the event of a hurricane, this community in Wesley will have electricity.
Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica
While some displaced families chose to have the government relocate and build new houses for them, others opted for financial compensations. Skerrit said most of those that wanted cash for their property have been paid; and farmers who were displaced from their farmlands were compensated for their crops.
The parliamentary representative for Wesley Constituency, Fidel Grant, said the government relocated affected families and farmers to about 500 acres of land. The Minister for Housing, Melissa Skerrit, stated that about 298 properties were taken over for the construction of the ultra-modern airport and that majority of the former owners have been compensated.
For the new families moved to Joe Burton Housing Development area, the prime minister said the former 20,000-gallon water tank serving the community has been upgraded to 500,000 gallons. He said the water tank will serve the community and the Greater Wesley region under the renewed water project that the government embarked upon for citizens.
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