Samoa Housing Corporation will no longer have to rent an office after the State-owned entity commissioned its multi-million tala headquarters in Matafele on Thursday morning. 

The opening of its new office is a milestone for the S.H.C. which was initially established in 1990 as it means the corporation no longer has to rent a building for office space.

The new office is located across the road from its old office. The total cost of the project which included the new office building and land amounted to SAT$4.1 million and was self-funded. 

Reverend Metotisi Leiataua officiated the prayer service and blessed the new building.

In his keynote address, Minister for Public Enterprises, Leatinu'u Wayne So'oialo reflected on the journey of the corporation since its establishment in May 1990, after Cyclone Val and Ofa struck the island and destroyed many residential houses in Samoa. 

The S.H.C. was established under the Ministry of Works, Transport, and Infrastructure (M.W.T.I.). However, it is now a State-owned entity under the Ministry of Public Enterprises. 

Its operations and functions are guided by the Housing Corporation of Samoa Act 1989 which was amended in 2010. The S.H.C. had been renting office space within a building belonging to Bill and Meilin Choi since 2016. 

According to Leatinu'u, in 2021, there was an advertisement for the Tuimaselina Holdings land and building and they immediately held consultations with the owner of the land and reached an agreement to purchase both the land and building. The corporation upon receiving approval from the Cabinet for its new office bought the land for SAT$2.6 million.

He added that the estimated cost of the project (construction works, architectural work, electricians, air-conditioning installation) was SAT$2.2 million.

The project was divided into different phases and there were 12 different contractors who worked on the project while S.H.C. was in charge of purchasing all building materials. At the completion of the project, the total cost of materials only amounted to SAT$1.5 million.

While the project was funded by the S.H.C. the Minister acknowledged the support and assistance of the Unit Trust of Samoa (U.T.O.S.) as well as Samoa National Provident Fund (S.N.P.F.) and Samoa Commercial Bank (S.C.B.). 

Leatinu'u also acknowledged the support of their clients for their contribution over the years. The new office will now house all the different services provided by S.H.C. 

The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, La'auli Leuatea Schmidt was given the honour of cutting the ribbon to officially open the new office building. The S.H.C. staff also provided entertainment for the guests.