44,121 Permanent Homes to Be Built for Sumatra Disaster Survivors
The Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force (Satgas PRR) for Sumatra is accelerating the construction of 44,121 permanent homes (huntap) for residents affected by disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. The move aims to ensure survivors promptly have safe, decent, and disaster-resilient housing.
Task Force Chairman Muhammad Tito Karnavian stated that permanent home construction is a priority within the permanent recovery phase. The government wants to ensure recovery continues until communities can truly resume normal life. This approach aligns with the ‘build back better’ principle, rebuilding to a safer, stronger, and more sustainable standard.
‘Permanent home construction is carried out through three schemes: insitu, independent exsitu, and centralised or communal exsitu. Two main agencies are executing the work. Construction within existing areas or communal relocation is undertaken by the Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas with land provision support from local governments. Meanwhile, residents who choose to rebuild on their own land, which has been declared safe, will be facilitated by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB),’ Tito said during a press conference in Jakarta.
To date, 1,012 permanent homes have been completed and are ready for use, whilst a further 2,187 units are under construction. Progress is being accelerated alongside the completion of various technical stages on the ground, from beneficiary verification and land readiness to the construction of basic settlement infrastructure.
Aceh Province has the largest requirement for permanent homes, totalling 34,777 units. The programme includes 7,502 units under the insitu scheme, 8,091 independent exsitu units, and 10,313 centralised exsitu units. Communal permanent home construction in Aceh is spread across 45 locations covering 156.13 hectares and is designed to accommodate approximately 6,220 families.
In North Sumatra Province, the government is targeting the construction of 6,779 permanent homes, comprising 990 insitu units, 829 independent exsitu units, and 4,182 communal exsitu units. In West Sumatra, construction covers 2,565 units, consisting of 631 insitu units, 1,740 independent exsitu units, and 2,411 communal exsitu units.
Overall, communal permanent home construction is spread across 54 locations in the three provinces, with a total land area of 198.13 hectares and a capacity to accommodate 7,973 families. The total requirement for permanent home construction across the three schemes includes 9,123 insitu units, 10,660 independent exsitu units, and 16,906 communal exsitu units.
Tito emphasised that the success of the permanent home construction is the result of cross-sector collaboration. In addition to the Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas and BNPB, the programme is supported by the Indonesian National Police, the Buddha Tzu Chi Foundation, the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, the National Alms Agency (Baznas), local governments, community organisations, Danantara, and various private sector partners working together to accelerate community recovery.
‘Thank you to the Buddha Tzu Chi Foundation, which has built 2,603 permanent homes, comprising 1,103 units in North Sumatra, 1,000 units in Aceh, and 500 units in West Sumatra,’ Tito said.
He added that accelerating permanent home construction is not solely about building houses, but also about ensuring every survivor obtains a dwelling in a safe location that suits their needs. Therefore, the government conducts beneficiary verification, site safety assessments, and dialogue with communities before construction begins.