MMCE continue to build resilience in Dominica as housing units in ten locations complete

MMCE completed construction of climate resilient houses on ten major locations across East Coast, West Coast and Roseau City.

Monday, 27th September 2021

Drone shot of a housing unit in Dominica

Montreal Management Consultants Est; A United Arab Emirates based construction company is fulfilling the infrastructural goals of Dominica. It has been building homes, health centres, hospitals, hurricane shelters, community centres across the country. MMCE is also constructing the most awaited International Airport for Dominica. One of the major construction projects of MMCE has been the "Housing Dominica Initiative". Under the project, the company is constructing "climate-resilient homes" with full amenities for people who were displaced by the natural catastrophes that hit the country between 2015-2017. [caption id="attachment_37859" align="aligncenter" width="587"]

Housing Unit build by MMCE in Dominica[/caption] The Government of Dominica launched its new housing projects in September 2018 and signed a contract with Montreal Management Consultants Est. Ltd to build hurricane-resilient housing communities islandwide. The project is funded by the "Citizenship by Investment Programme of Dominica". MMCE completed construction on ten major locations across East Coast, West Coast and Roseau City. The Housing Units are built on the following Locations; East Coast Housing

Castle Bruce
La Plaine
Delices
Grand Fond
San Sauveur

West Coast Housing

Georgetown
Cotton Hill

Roseau City Housing

Roseau City Square
Roseau Riverwalk
Bellevue Chopin

Some of the housing unit buildings are consist of three floors. The homes include two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments. The beneficiaries are selected via a thorough process; hundreds of families now live in climate-resilient homes with proper amenities like water, kitchens, bathrooms, and more. [caption id="attachment_37857" align="aligncenter" width="602"]

Housing Map of Dominica[/caption] Why is Dominica giving free homes? In August 2015, Tropical Storm Erika, the most destructive natural calamity Dominica saw since Hurricane David in 1979, brought massive rain that triggered heavy flooding and landslides across the country. Rivers and streams rose with stones, debris and wiped out homes, villages, bridges, and roads. This catastrophic event resulted in the unfortunate demise of at least 20 Dominicans and directly affected about 16,000 people, approximately 23% of Dominica's population. Just two years later, in 2017, Dominica was again hit by a significant category five Hurricane Maria, everything including the infrastructural, social and emotional stage of the country, was faltered. Over 90% of the total buildings were destroyed, with losses estimated at over EC$2.51 billion. Hurricane Maria was not the first natural catastrophe to hit the country, but it was the biggest in the last many years. Being in the Caribbean, Dominica, like many other countries in the region, are paying the price for the climate crisis, which they did not cause. [caption id="attachment_37858" align="aligncenter" width="596"]

Devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Dominica[/caption] After Hurricane Maria destroyed most of the homes, schools, health centres and more, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, decided to make his country the world's first "climate-resilient" country. He pledged to construct an infrastructure capable of handling any higher category natural catastrophe. In 2017, he pledged to construct over 5,000 climate-resilient homes and distribute them among people who lost their homes. More than 1100 homes have been built and distributed for free to the citizens in the last three years.