Colombia’s congress on Tuesday approved the subsidized construction of 100,000 houses for some of the country’s poorest citizens.
The free houses are planned to be ready in July next year and are meant to diminish poverty in Colombia, which suffers one of the highest inequality rates in Latin America.
“The project will have great impact on Colombia’s poorest of families and [the] generating [of] employment … Congress is responding to the thousands of Colombians who never even dreamed of the possibility of having their own roof,” Interior Minister German Vargas Lleras said in a response.
According to government statistics, 10.6% of Colombians, approximately 4.9 million people, live in extreme poverty.
The houses will be raffled off among families across the country.
The government of President Juan Manuel Santos estimates that the subsidized housing project will cost the state approximately $4.2 billion.
