Housing Minister prioritises subsidised flats in cities using state assets
Housing and Settlement Areas Minister Maruarar Sirait has said the government is focusing on building subsidised flats primarily in urban areas by utilising state-owned assets.
“In line with the directives of the Housing Task Force chairman and the President, our focus is on subsidised flats in urban areas, especially on state assets, particularly railway assets, which are the most abundant,” Maruarar said after the groundbreaking ceremony for the Manggarai Affordable Housing project in Jakarta on Friday.
He said the government has secured a number of supports to accelerate flat construction, including through corporate social responsibility programmes from Astra and land utilisation support from several parties.
“There is already CSR, a grant from Astra of 2,000 units, soon in Jakarta and Bandung, and we have also received support for 45 hectares of land from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs in Depok,” he said.
Maruarar also explained that the Manggarai housing development is an example of collaboration in utilising state assets through cooperation between KAI and PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk, or BTN, in providing public housing.
Previously, BTN prepared subsidised mortgages with tenors of up to 40 years and interest rates of 6 percent until fully repaid to expand public access to affordable vertical housing at the Manggarai Transit Oriented Development.
BTN President Director Nixon LP Napitupulu said after the groundbreaking ceremony that the long-term financing scheme is designed to open wider access for the public to housing in the city centre with more affordable instalments and long-term interest rate certainty.
“Indeed, our mandate is to manage housing for the people. We are trying a mortgage scheme of 40 years with 6 percent interest until fully repaid. So the interest rate will not change,” he said.
Nixon said the appeal of the Manggarai housing lies in its combination of affordability and its location in the city centre, close to public transport networks. BTN will keep housing prices in the project below Rp600 million.
The Manggarai housing is being developed on approximately 2.2 hectares of land and is planned to consist of eight towers of 24 storeys. A total of 1,276 units will be built in Block G across three towers, while Block F will have five towers with a total of 2,508 units.
The entire project will also be equipped with 150 supporting retail units, with housing options ranging from studio type 28 to type 52 with three bedrooms. Construction of the entire project is targeted to take around 18 months.