WILLEMSTAD.- One of the solutions for homelessness in Curaçao is to build upwards. “Building apartments of different floors could really be a huge solution of houses, but for this to be possible, it is necessary to change the current ordinance that allows to go upwards to 3 floors above when building houses, before it was possible to build upwards to two floors, but this has changed, we even think about discussing the possibility of going 4 floors up and up to 5, considering the lack of land for the construction of houses “, says an expert from the area of house construction. There was always a resistance in Curacao to build upwards as many consider that this would disturb their privacy. On the other hand it is said that a house with a yard is much more attractive.
However, in the last few decades, many people from Curacao went abroad, among other destinations to the Netherlands, where they settled in apartments, some of different floors.
The discussion about the space to build houses woke up again, after recently the Government of Curaçao together with a private company announced the construction of 500 houses of middle class. The Government put the land available while the companies will build the houses based on the PPP principle. The houses will be built in different neighborhoods of Curaçao. The idea is that when a person wants to acquire one of these houses, he must go through a process to obtain a mortgage normally in financial institutions. This approach allows everyone to win. The Government wins by alleviating the shortage of houses and charges for the use of the land. The company also wins because it builds the houses with its own funds. What often highlights is that you should try to build houses more quickly, but both FKP and private entities indicate that the way to build them must be organized. When the houses are going to be built, the land must be available and money must be invested in the infrastructures of the land, in which cables and pipes that are very expensive must be passed. There are currently more than 7,000 people registered to receive a house from FKP and the question that arises is how to deal with this shortage. It is true that there are many empty houses but many of those houses are part of family disputes that have not yet ended. This means, you can’t dispose of a large part of these houses that are certainly empty.
It highlights a question, why residential buildings are not built on the available land. They’re already experimenting with this type of houses, among others in Zapateer and with very good results. In the future, this process will continue, according to experts. The experts clarify that the construction of houses of more than three storeys must be permitted, and therefore laws must be adjusted. The timing is perfect now.
