Above: new homes in the Ardastra Gardens community (BIS Photo)

The Bahamas is undergoing a massive housing project that will add 1,000 new government homes by next year. Nearly 700 of the homes have already been completed, and the project received a funding increase to finish the remaining 300 by 2012. “We have been assured of the funding we need to continue building, so rather than slow down and come to a stop, we now are going to pick up more building now because the funding is there,” said Bahamas Housing Minister Kenneth Russell. The homes are being built in Grand Bahama and New Providence. Russell said that there was a direct relationship between rising home ownership and economic stability. The increased construction means an eventual increase in property taxes, he said. “In the absence of income taxes, the government has the option of balancing out the national debt with the security of revenue from property taxes.” The new homes will be available for public sale.

–Bahamas Information Service