Minister Ara Discusses Housing Development, Luhut Proposes AI Integration
Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP) Minister Maruarar Sirait met with National Economic Council (DEN) Chair Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan to discuss accelerating the national housing programme. The meeting focused not only on housing construction but also on the use of information technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve data governance in the housing sector.
The government is now preparing data integration involving the PKP Ministry, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), and the DEN team. This step is expected to produce a more accurate housing database so that the distribution of various aid programmes can be carried out more quickly and precisely.
‘We had a long discussion with the DEN Chair, Mr Luhut. The number one agenda was how IT, AI, and technology can be used to make things more transparent, faster, and more targeted based on data. The data comes from BPS. We have submitted several questions, mainly regarding the housing backlog figures, both for those who do not own a home and those who own a home but it is unfit for habitation, by name and by address. We will later synchronise this with our database, assisted by Mr Luhut’s team, and the data from BPS,’ said Luhut at the DEN office on Thursday (23/7/2026).
In addition to strengthening the database, the government is also preparing regulatory changes to support housing sector development. The refinement of these rules will cover land issues, financing, and cross-ministerial data synchronisation to ensure the entire housing ecosystem operates more effectively.
‘Then the criteria for stimulant assistance such as home renovation, which last year was 45,000 and will become 400,000, must be truly targeted. We are currently drafting a bill amendment. There was a lot of good input because Mr Luhut is very experienced in government. So, we will meet again next week to formulate synchronisation regarding housing related to the entire ecosystem, whether with the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, or BPS data,’ said Ara.
Meanwhile, the government is also preparing a mass subsidised housing contract ceremony to be centred in Batang. This agenda is a continuation of the accelerated home ownership programme which President Prabowo Subianto has attended several times.
‘Next week we will invite President Prabowo. On Wednesday, 31 July, at 3 p.m. in Batang. We are preparing 62,000 houses across Indonesia to be contracted next week. Then in December, we are preparing 71,000 houses across Indonesia in East Java. Furthermore, the Housing KUR (People’s Business Credit) is a first, and last month it was decided to increase the quota from Rp36 trillion to Rp50 trillion because its absorption rate is the highest compared to other KUR,’ said Ara.
The increase in housing financing through KUR will expand access to financing for MSMEs involved in the housing sector supply chain, from contractors, developers, and building material shops to people wanting to build or renovate homes.
‘There were discussions about IT, the housing bill, data, and how we will also help MSMEs. We will also move to drive the economy as directed by the President and Mr Luhut. Economic growth is heavily driven by the housing sector because there are hundreds of industries like tiles, bricks, sand, glass, paint, and others affiliated with housing. Not to mention the workforce, building material shops, banking, and so on. So, the housing sector is very strategic and is being pushed hard,’ said Ara.