Govt to freeze luxury house construction

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)