$202.9 million contract to develop application process for building permits

Earlier today, the Ministry of Housing and Water, together with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and Global Services, signed a $202.9 million contract for the development and implementation of the information technology solution. This solution is necessitated by the electronic single window (ESW) system. Global Services comprises a consortium of professional technicians from Guyana, the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates. Once launched in mid-2023, the ESW will feature a dashboard which enables staff of the CHPA to monitor the status of applications with corresponding reports. Its automated tracker will display the status of applications with external deadlines fixed onto agencies, reflecting expected wait-times. In turn, this creates scalability as is relative to evolving workflows. Reiterated by Minister Susan Rodrigues, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water was that applicants for planning and construction permits would benefit tremendously from the ease of access and efficiency, as they would no longer be expected to visit multiple agencies to have their documentation examined. As opposed to the ESW, applicants were previously expected to visit the City Council where their physical application would be made, with several other applications to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Public Works and the Guyana Fire Service. According to Minister Rodrigues, ““We are removing all subjectivity from the system. No Guyanese or investor will have to fear that any public official will deny their application.” To this effect, Minister Colin Croal, Subject Minister, reassured that a law to this effect would be debated on in the next sitting of the National Assembly.

Source(Department of Public Information, Image: CEO of the CHPA, Sherwyn Greaves and George Melville, Global Services, DPI 2022)

---

28 Dec 2022 18:00 | by anaraine

| Construction, Engineering and Transportation