IBRA provides 237 hectares of land for low-cost housing
IBRA provides 237 hectares of land for low-cost housing
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has designated
some 237 hectares of land on Jakarta's outskirts to build low-
cost housing for families earing less than Rp 1.5 million
(US$177) a month.
IBRA also committed 351 hectares of land for low-cost housing
in several municipalities and regencies throughout Indonesia.
The agency made the announcement during a meeting on Tuesday
to discuss a national government program to build 200,000 low-
cost houses throughout Indonesia by 2004.
The meeting, held at the office of Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla in Central Jakarta, was attended by
Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno and
IBRA head Syafruddin Temenggung, among others.
Soenarno said the land from IBRA was scattered across 49
locations in 15 cities, including Jakarta; Bekasi, Bogor and
Cimahi in West Java; Tangerang in Banten; Balikpapan in East
Kalimantan; Pontianak in West Kalimantan; Semarang in Central
Java; and Makassar in South Sulawesi.
"We will check the status of the land for any ongoing legal
disputes," Soenarno said.
He added that the national low-cost housing program would
prioritize civil servants. However, he did not specify how many
of the planned 200,000 new houses would be allocated for civil
servants.
The government has signed agreements with approximately 40
municipalities and regencies across the country, under which the
local administrations will provide vacant land and the government
and banks will provide funds for the construction of the new
homes.
All five municipalities in Jakarta declined to provide land
for the program because the price of land in the capital is so
high. The North Jakarta municipality, however, is considering
setting aside some land in Muara Angke to build low-cost
apartments for fishermen who were evicted from their homes on
Oct. 22.
The total value of the land committed by IBRA is estimated at
Rp 150 billion. However, Soenarno hopes the government will be
able to pay IBRA less than the market price.