Business View Caribbean l Feb 2023

53 54 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 CENTRAL HOUS ING AND PLANNING AUTHOR I TY land and housing as a complete package to satisfy the overwhelming demand for sustainably, durable, aesthetic, and affordable housing developments in Antigua and Barbuda.” “CHAPA has shifted its strategy and put the necessary framework in place to increase its capacity by strategically partnering with private sector stakeholders. Rather than financing, implementing, and monitoring developments on its own, CHAPA will partner with various financial institutions, real estate service providers, construction firms, and foreign and domestic contractors to bolster the production and quality of housing at various locations across Antigua.” capacity and ensure adequate control measures to control both the cost and quality of housing it offers to Antigua and Barbuda citizens. “Rather than finance, implement, and monitor housing developments on its own, CHAPA has partnered with various financial institutions, construction firms, contractors, service and product providers to bolster the production and quality of housing at different locations.” “Under this initiative, Lightfoot, the first pilot project, has now taken shape and borne fruit, proving that this public-private initiative works to bring much-added value, increase quality, and lower construction costs.” CHAPA has embraced the PPP model as a critical lever for its future programs because it provides better development and infrastructure solutions than an initiative that is government or private-driven. These efforts are helping CHAPA meet the mounting challenges of providing affordable housing amid a challenging global economy. One of the challenges it hopes to overcome is the inflated cost of construction materials affecting not just CHAPA but the whole construction industry. CHAPA will need to make critical adjustments to its development plans, including increasing housing prices for homeowners to offset these costs. Other challenges facing the authority are a lack of training and expertise in staff complement and infrequent upgrading, proper tools, and poor implementation of technology to drive new work methods. During the COVID pandemic, the authority instituted mitigative measures that ensured its continued operations. Richards provides highlights of the specifics. “CHAPA successfully navigated the Covid-19 pandemic remaining stable as a going concern,” he says. “After implementing mitigation measures, we were fortunate to have no reduction in staff, salaries, wages, or late payments.” “Amidst the pandemic, CHAPA implemented its public-private partner initiative to increase its The management team