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tate-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek is completing the construction of another low-cost apartment block in Kabil industrial estate in Batam in efforts to improve the social welfare of workers on the island.

The apartments, called the twin-flats, cost Rp 200 billion to build and have the capacity to house more than 1,500 low-income workers. Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Muhaimin Iskandar is scheduled to officiate at the opening of the housing project on Oct. 8, 2010.

Jamsostek president of director Hotbonar Sinaga said in a press conference here on Wednesday that like other flats constructed in Mukakuning in 2003, the new block has 400 rooms, each of which can accommodate four single workers who would have to pay between Rp 90,000 and Rp 130,000 per month per room.

“The cheap flats are prioritized for low-income workers participating in social security programs,” he said. Hotbonar said the rents were cheaper than for other types of accommodation, therefore it is expected the workers’ would be able to save more money.

The location is also close to the workplace so they could cut transportation expenses, he added. The city, he went on, would benefit from the expected improved traffic as workers could now live closer to the factories.

The construction of affordable flats was much needed because of the prevailing low levels of remuneration and the relatively expensive housing on the island.

Jamsostek’s director of human resources and general affairs Djoko Sungkono said the construction of cheap flats was part of the company’s Labor Earmark Program, the resources for which were put aside from the company’s annual profits from running social security programs.

“So far, Jamsostek has constructed two blocks of low-cost flats for low-income workers on the island and previously we built another one on the Cikarang industrial estate, West Java,” he said, adding that Jamsostek was also considering to build similar flats in Makassar, South Sulawesi and Surabaya, East Java.

The workers housing program is a not-for-profit program, he said. Djoko said Jamsostek was thankful to the Batam administration, which assisted the program by charging Jamsostek only Rp 6,000 per square meter for the land. Jamsostek could use the land for 30 years.

Jamsostek allocated Rp 328 billion this year to finance the Labor Earmark Program and it has spent Rp 82 billion, to help complete the construction of low-cost apartments, and to provide mortgage credits for workers and scholarships for workers’ children.

“Jamsostek has disbursed totally Rp 50.3 billion in housing credits to more than 2,600 low-income workers and Rp 429 million in soft-loan credits to eight labor cooperatives,” said Djoko.

Djoko said Jamsostek’s financial situation was healthy, with Rp 1 trillion booked in profits as of August this year. The company targeted to gain Rp 1.2 trillion in total profits this year.

Jamsostek has invested Rp 87 trillion from its total assets worth Rp 91.8 trillion to buy bonds from state-owned banks’ and to make other interventions in the capital market.