Low-cost housing in demand

Business

By SHIRLEY MAULUDU
THE high demand for affordable housing and accommodation in Port Moresby has resulted in the high costs houses, Professor Eugene Ezebilo says.
Ezebilo is a Senior Research Fellow with National Research Institute.
He worked on a paper with Research Fellow Logea Nao which established that “trunk infrastructure must be established before houses are constructed”.
He highlighted the Duran Farm Housing Project in Port Moresby as an example.
“Port Moresby is one of the largest cities in PNG, one of the fastest growing cities in the Pacific and a lot of people have moved here,” Ezebilo said.
“But the problem is to do with housing price which is getting too high.
“Given that, the Government has taken the initiative to build more houses so that the prices will drop.
“The paper noted that in order to increase the supply of houses to meet the demand in Port Moresby, the State has taken several housing development initiatives one of which was the Duran Farm Housing Project. However, in order for the project to be successful, there was a need for the provision of trunk infrastructure which the project currently lacks.
“This is not to say who is in the wrong or right, but we now have to move the project forward because at the end, all the sectors will benefit.”
Meanwhile, Ezebilo said when the infrastructures were in place, maintenance should be done on them regularly so everyone benefit in the long run.
“Please remember that when trunk infrastructure is provided, we should see it as an investment, not a cost. We invest for future. We should think of sustainability, sustaining this infrastructure through maintenance. When that grows we make a lot of money.”