BNPB Seeks to Raise Permanent Housing Aid in Aceh to Rp80 Million

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) is seeking to increase the allocation of stimulant funds for the construction of permanent housing (huntap) in situ for victims of the floods and landslides in Aceh, from the original Rp60 million to Rp80 million per unit. BNPB Head Suharyanto stated in Jakarta on Tuesday that this adjustment targets the category of heavily damaged houses, particularly in Aceh where there are unique challenges in the procurement and distribution of building materials. “The increase in aid value is expected to produce better quality buildings that meet the needs of the affected community,” he said. According to him, the proposal for the nominal adjustment has been agreed upon through a Ministerial-Level Meeting led by the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK), and discussions are still ongoing. Under the in-situ scheme, built on the residents’ own land, each permanent housing unit is designed with a type 36 permanent construction, featuring two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, plastered brick walls, and a lightweight steel roof frame. To date, BNPB has recorded receiving a total of approximately 15,000 proposals for in-situ permanent housing construction spread across affected areas in three provinces: Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. Of these proposals, around 800 to 900 units are currently being built simultaneously in various regions, with nearly 400 units reported to be functionally complete. Suharyanto emphasised that this rehabilitation and reconstruction process is being carried out in stages and continuously, with each completed house immediately handed over to the beneficiary residents for occupancy. “We will be able to see from Aceh Tamiang, East Aceh, to North Aceh, several houses that are already finished and have been directly handed over to the community. This is so that the affected people can see that while everything cannot be completed instantly, the process is ongoing,” he said.