Low-income earners on the north coast and southeastern areas of Jamaica are to benefit from houses under the Government's housing development programme.

Dr Horace Chang, the minister of water and housing made the disclosure Monday during a tour of the model unit on Oxford Road in New Kingston.

The units, Chang said, will cost under $2 million.

"The houses will be built throughout Jamaica, but particularly in north coast and southeast areas - Corporate Area, St Catherine and the Clarendon belt, where the bulk of the population growth is taking place," Chang told reporters.

The minister said that the programme would also include in its scope, squatter settlements on the north coast which had seen significant growth with the expansion of the tourist industry, an economic mainstay of many residents in western Jamaica.

The one-bedroom units, which can be expanded, are to be built by the Canada-based Global Precast Homes.

Director of the company, Keith McKenzie, said the houses are 350 square feet in size and were built to withstand hurricane-force winds.

Suitable unit

"It is the kind of unit which is quite suitable because it is a decent unit and hotel workers tend to really just want a start-up home by whatever means," said Chang.

One unit can be built in 48 hours.

"If we can deliver a unit at this type to workers under $2 million, considering the (National) Housing Trust rate.

"I am sure that most of the workers in the hotel sector and other low-income workers can afford them and at that volume we should be able to overcome some of the problems we have with squatting," said Chang.

The minister also said housing plans were in the pipeline for young professionals.

"We are still discussing whether we can go for graduated mortgages, no downpayment and so forth, because young professionals do have a problem in finding substantial downpayments," he said.

Chang said the retention of young professionals was critical to the long-term development of Jamaica, adding that the inability to acquire a comfortable home was one of the reasons why young professionals emigrated.