This means that people who are selected for the housing program will also be given the opportunity to tap into the construction fund and receive cheap mortgages. The head of state hopes to address the housing issue this year. She announced that several locations where land was allocated to citizens have already been selected for the housing program and that preparations are being made to get the housing construction fund operational. “We talked about 3% to 5%. The 7% is already available at the bank so we are looking at all of the options,” said President Simons. The Simons administration wants to make mortgages accessible to people with a modest income by making them available at low interest rates. President Simons made it clear that even citizens with a salary of SRD 11,000 to SRD 12,000 per month must be given the opportunity to partake in the program. She hopes that two to three thousands homes will be built in the next couple of years although she doubts whether the local construction sector has to capacity to handle this as a fast pace. One important aspect of the plans is the integration of solar energy in the new housing projects.