The government is pursuing a $100 million housing bond as part of an ambitious plan to accelerate home construction and address surging demand for affordable housing across Antigua and Barbuda.
According to Antigua News Room, Prime Minister Gaston Browne disclosed the initiative during his weekly Browne and Browne Show radio programme on Saturday. He said the financing would bring the government closer to its goal of constructing up to 500 homes annually over the next ten years.
Browne confirmed that discussions are already underway with FCIB regarding the proposed bond issue, which he described as critical to expanding housing development nationwide.
"Cash is also an issue, so we met with them, FCIB. And we're trying to float a bond for $100 million, a housing bond. They're looking at it seriously, and we're hoping that they will give favorable consideration," Browne said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that while projects such as Booby Alley have represented meaningful progress, the pace of construction remains constrained by both financing limitations and labour shortages. He said the National Housing Development and Urban Renewal Company has been instructed to recruit additional workers to support the planned expansion.
"We just don't have enough workers," Browne said. "What we're trying to do is to scale up to about 500 homes a year."
He indicated that bond financing would allow the government to increase annual housing output to between 300 and 400 homes in the near term, as a stepping stone toward the longer-term target.
"We want to get up to about 500 homes a year. In the next 10 years, we must deliver no less than 5,000 homes to the people," Browne said.
The Prime Minister argued that achieving that target would deliver a transformative impact on living standards and social mobility across the twin-island nation.
"If you provide 5,000 homes, on average about three persons per home, we are literally transitioning about 15,000 people into middle-income housing," he said.
Demand for housing, Browne revealed, remains exceptionally strong. Approximately 7,500 applications are currently on file, with new requests continuing to arrive even as units are delivered.
"As soon as we deliver a few hundred, a few more come back on," he said.
The Prime Minister said sustained demand reinforces the case for an aggressive construction programme and underpins the government's confidence that thousands of additional homes can be built and occupied in the years ahead.
"We know for a fact that we can build up to about 7,000 homes and there is a demand for all of it," Browne said.
The proposed housing bond forms part of a broader government strategy that includes condominium developments, low-income housing projects, and rent-to-own initiatives — all aimed at expanding home ownership opportunities, reducing overcrowding, and stimulating economic activity in the construction sector.
