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It's a housing project called Highland Estate and many of the recipients today are public servants and teachers. But 50 is only a portion of the total number of houses they plan to distribute. Courtney Menzies was there at the launch of this new community and has this story.

50 public officers and teachers will soon be moving into their new homes in the J&W area of Belmopan. They're the first residents of the Highland Estate housing project, which - according to the plan - will ultimately see hundreds of new homes.

It's one of the larger housing projects the government has undertaken, and according to the Ministers of Housing and Natural Resources, it's a smooth process so far.

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development & Housing:
"It's always a good, this one more than so. As you see, the scale is different that we're doing. It was on schedule, it was on budget so it's just a matter of the recipients now enjoying their home so it's a good feeling."

Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources:
"It cannot be overstated the importance of a project like this, the opportunities it creates, not just for the homeowners but also the people who live in the surrounding areas and people to come. These 50 houses are actually on a larger subdivision that we did, a land that we acquired for and on behalf of the teachers and the public servants of Belize. There are hundreds of lots, almost 800 lots, and this is the start of that project officially kicks it off and officially creates the opportunities for them to come in and put their roads with the assistance of the government of course but it will catapult this project and as the minister explained, all the people who live along this road and surrounding areas so in the immediate instance you're looking at 1,000 people benefitting. But it's gonna be far more."

But this plot of land didn't always look like this — it had no roads, no drains, and had to be filled. At first, it didn't seem feasible, but Minister Espat said they had no choice but to make it work. And they have done so in a relatively remote area without basic services such as stores and schools:

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development & Housing:
"Well, you work with what you have. If you want to buy a suitable area you go to the private sector and pay $40,000 a lot. We're doing this as a contribution to the people of Belize. It is not as far as you might like to think, it is near the heart of Belmopan, that's why we paved the road, and everything will come with time. What we have seen in other developments like this is that some of the same recipients are putting up their shops as the need comes. Some of them end up being babysitters. It's a start, nothing is perfect, nothing that we do in life is perfect. In fact, the only perfect man was Jesus and he was killed so you can understand what we're dealing with but we try our best and we work with the land that's available."

"The urban planning part of it, we're concentrating it in the metropolis of Belmopan which is George Price's initial concept. Many years before it's starting to reach here and we're using the available land. In Belize City for example, it's low-lying so the same can apply there. But we've done it in such a way where it's not low-lying anymore, we've addressed that issue."

"Courtney Menzies: What propelled the government to use this model, these one bedroom as opposed to high density housing to maximize the use of the space?"

"We're trying to get away from possible ghettos. We believe that especially on the outskirts of Belize City, we have access to more land and if you notice, these lots are not 50x75, they're 100x125. They're like quarter acre lots and so the idea is that these people can also have their vegetable gardens and plant their own mini subsistence kind of farming. It gives the children an ability to play, passive recreation. There are so many things that enhances our way of living and not being cooped up into a box with 50 families living right beside you. So it's a more humane approach to the program because Belize still has land available, even though it might take some infrastructure to build it properly, that's what the vision is."

And now, with this low income housing project, the question is - how will they ensure that the homes go to those who actually need it? In previous projects, there have been PUP supporters who receive houses and then rent them out. We asked Espat how they're planning on preventing that this time around.

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development & Housing:
"That's life. You plan to try to achieve as close to perfection as you can but we never reach that. There has to be a formula in place that of 100 people you will have problems with some refusing to pay or some having ulterior motives but the reality, if we look at the numbers, it's extremely minimum. I would say 2 per 100. And in any project you do, you have to calculate that some of them are PUP supporters yes but you have many others that we, and it's not that we vet them as PUP it's just that they have more energy right now and they apply. Like 2,000 people applied already and have already gone through the vetting process which is a rigorous process and some of them, even though you are considering them PUP, have the same needs. But it's not the majority. And so we serve all, like the ones here, there are no specific, it was based on a list that had already been approved, and people who were in the area, and a good amount of them I think nearly 50% are public service workers which is a good thing too."

All the homes are 1 bedroom and according to the minister, it will be another 2 weeks before the rest of the access road is completed.

Each recipient will pay $100 per month for the next ten years.