Govt caps price of low-cost houses
Govt caps price of low-cost houses
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has decided to set the price of low-cost apartments in Jakarta at between Rp 12 million (US$5,452) and Rp 15 million each, the chief of the City Housing Office, Ongky Sukasah H., said yesterday.
The price range has been set as low as possible in order to make the apartments affordable for people in the low income bracket.
"This decision is aimed at promoting the concept of living in vertical housing among people living in slum areas," he said, while accompanying Deputy Governor R.S. Museno on a tour of the Bidaracina low-cost apartments in East Jakarta yesterday.
He said that the promotion of that concept was costly but the city did not have any choice as a result of the scarcity of space and the rising population.
Ongky said that the financial burden on the city administration of building low-cost apartments had been eased to an extent by certain business tycoons, who have donated money for the construction of the facilities.
"Nobody wants to invest their money in low-cost apartments because it is unprofitable. Any party engaged in such projects is not doing so because it expects to make a profit," he said.
Twenty-three prominent business tycoons, including Sudono Salim, Mohammad (Bob) Hasan, Prayogo Pangestu and Sudwikatmono, have made donations for the establishment of seven low-cost apartment buildings in Bidaracina, Jatinegara, East Jakarta.
The Bidaracina apartments will be occupied by people who are currently living in shanty houses along 800 meters of the Ciliwung river bank in the area.
Three buildings of the apartment complex, which consists of 288 units, have already been completed and are scheduled to be dedicated by President Soeharto next month.
The construction of the other four buildings will start next month.
The Bidaracina apartments were designed by a Jakarta-based firm of architects, PT Cipta Pura.
Bidaracina subdistrict chief, Satana, said that in the beginning many local settlers, whose land must be cleared to make way for the apartments, had refused to sell their plots to the city administration.
"But finally they cooperated, when they realized that the city had ear-marked the land for a low-cost apartment complex and not for luxury housing," Satana said.
He said that all of the families, who lived on the land to be used for the apartment complex, have now sold their land to the developer.
"Yesterday the heads of four families, who had previously refused to sell their land, finally told me that they were willing to sell it. They have received compensation of about Rp 614,000 per square meter," he said.
Suratman, the head of Bidaracina construction project, said that the city will make additional payments for objects on the land, including telephone lines, trees and buildings. (mas)