There is to be a minimum cap on the amount of cash that remigrants can spend on building houses on lands specially set aside for them, according to Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali.

“What we want is that everybody who comes back from overseas, they are going to invest a minimum of approximately eighty to one hundred thousand US in the building of their house,” he told demwaves.com .

The Housing Minister explained that the minimum cap is aimed at ensuring that the buildings are of a “certain minimum standard and to maximize the benefit of inflow of resources.”

“The economic trickle-down for Guyana would be amazing in the next three to four years,” he told the launch of Building Expo II to be held under the theme ‘Bridging The Gap and Transforming Guyana’ from July 29-31, 2011.

The housing lots for remigrants are expected to be ready by August 1.

More than 1,000 overseas-based Guyanese have applied for house-lots either directly or through Guyana’s diplomatic missions abroad, said the Housing Minister.

Endorsing Building Expo II, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo noted that last year’s event generated a lot of business for commercial banks and other companies that created linkages with like-minded firms in the Caribbean.

“This is heartening but it must be said that perhaps there is still room for better deals to be worked out with the commercial banks,” he said.

Latest government statistics show a 24 percent increase in lending for housing since the 2010 Expo.

At least 60 local and foreign companies will be exhibiting at next month’s event which will feature the introduction of the President’s Award for Innovation in the Building and Construction Sector. The exhibitors will include machinery suppliers, hardware suppliers, private developers, banks and construction service-providers.

The PSC boss identified the need for proper zoning in the construction of houses and other buildings to help ensure that “there is comfort for all.”

Another 15,000 house lots could be distributed on the East Bank Demerara within two years of which 3,500 could be ready for distribution by year-end.

At least 17,000 house lots have been allocated over the last three years.

The construction sector grew by 10.8 percent in 2010 and contributed 10.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in the same year.