The Bottom, Saba -With the pouring of the concrete for the floor of the cisterns of block C of the Under the Hill social housing project in The Bottom on Tuesday, May 7, another step was taken in the realization of 18 new low-cost homes.

Commissioner of Social Affairs and Housing Rolando Wilson and Own Your Own Home Foundation (OYOHF) Technical Director Eviton Heyliger assisted in pouring the concrete together with workers of the main contractor Van Boekel. Block C is part of the phase 2 of the Under the Hill project: it is one of the three buildings that will house 18 one, two and three-bedroom apartments. 

The construction at this location is a rather complex matter that involves major excavation due to the very steep hill. The project has not been without challenges because of the large number of boulders having to be excavated. The groundbreaking took place early December last year. The project should be completed late 2020.

The Public Entity Saba has transferred 18,000m2 of government-owned land to facilitate this project, which is important for persons in need of low-cost housing. The Public Entity Saba is the principal for the infrastructure part of this project. The European Union, through the 9th Economic Development Fund (EDF) contributes with US $3.2 million. The infrastructural works entail the roads, the cisterns and foundations.

Woonlinie housing corporation of the Netherlands is the principal and financier of the homes. An amount of some US $3.3 million is involved in the construction of the houses themselves. The OYOHF will manage the houses and rent them to the tenants.