Govt to freeze luxury house construction

JAKARTA (JP): The government announced yesterday it will freeze the construction of luxury houses to encourage the development of low costs houses for the populace.

State Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tanjung disclosed the plan yesterday after witnessing the signing of a project document for shelter development with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Akbar said the restriction would be imposed because of the limited amount of land for construction and the need for more low-cost housing in contrast to the ample supply of mansions.

"The 60,000 hectares of land provided to build luxury houses is enough, so the government will not render permission to build more," he told Antara news agency.

The government currently conforms to a "balanced housing" concept, which requires developers to build six "very simple" houses for every three "medium" houses and one luxury unit.

Many developers are reluctant to comply with the policy and have refused to build the low-cost houses because of the small margin.

Under the joint cooperation agreement signed yesterday by the ministry's secretary, Djuwanda Djoekardi, and UNDP Resident Representative C. Jan Kamp, the UNDP and the Indonesian government will provide US$850,000 and Rp 900 million ($428,000) respectively for the shelter development project.

Kamp said the project is aimed at strengthening the capability of the state ministry to support community-based, low-cost housing projects.

Akbar explained that housing development in Indonesia is done through formal and informal self-supporting means and through cooperative or organized groups.

Since 1991, Indonesia, with the help of the UNDP, has implemented try-outs for the project for organized groups in Jakarta, Bandung and Semarang.

Yesterday's agreement, covering a three-year period, will be implemented by the UN Center for Human Settlement and the National Housing and Human Settlements Supervisory Board. (pwn)