Government Accelerates Construction of Permanent Housing for Disaster-Affected Communities in Sumatra

The government is continuously working to accelerate the construction of permanent housing (huntap) for communities affected by hydrometeorological disasters in Sumatra by the end of 2025. This effort targets those whose homes have been severely damaged or completely lost, so they do not have to stay in temporary housing (huntara) for too long. This was stated by the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) and Head of the Task Force for Accelerating Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Post-Sumatra Disaster, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, during his inspection of a huntap construction site in Dolok Nauli Village, Adian Koting Subdistrict, Tapanuli Utara Regency, North Sumatra, on Thursday (26/3/2026). The inspection was conducted alongside the Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP), Maruarar Sirait. “This is indeed the stage; the huntara stage is almost complete. So we are now entering the stage where we are pushing to accelerate all huntap,” Tito explained in a written statement received by Kompas.com. Under the in-situ scheme, communities can build houses independently in safe locations with financial support of Rp60 million from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), which will be disbursed in two stages. In addition to self-building, communities can also hand over the construction directly to BNPB. “In Aceh, I discussed with the Head of BNPB yesterday; approximately 15,000 out of 26,000 houses are in-situ. Either built by BNPB or self-built with funds provided by BNPB,” he clarified. Then, under the communal scheme, huntap construction is carried out in a complex where the land is provided by the regional government (pemda). The huntap construction in Dolok Nauli Village, Adian Koting Subdistrict, Tapanuli Utara Regency, is one example of the communal scheme supported by a non-governmental entity, namely the Buddha Tzu Chi Foundation. Tito mentioned that the Buddha Tzu Chi Foundation is building a total of 2,603 huntap units spread across three affected provinces: Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. The foundation will construct 1,000 units in Aceh, 1,103 units in North Sumatra, and 500 units in West Sumatra. Meanwhile, specifically for Tapanuli Utara Regency, the Buddha Tzu Chi Foundation will build 103 huntap units. On the other hand, the Regent of Tapanuli Utara, Jonius Taripar Parsaoran Hutabarat, assured that the land used is a regional government asset that has obtained approval from the DPRD and holds an official certificate. The provision of housing is also strengthened through cross-institutional coordination, including with the Ministry of Public Works (PU), PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), the North Sumatra Provincial Government (Pemprov Sumut), the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), and BNPB.