T

he Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI) recently asked the government to revise the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministerial Decree No. 5/2015 on Location Permits.

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that REI had complained about the location permit policy because it limits land ownership in one province. The policy was considered a hurdle for developers wanting to develop housing in rural areas.

Under the policy, a company can only build housing on up to 400 hectares in one province or 4,000 ha within Indonesia. For hotel resorts, the limit is 200 ha and for industrial zones it is 400 ha.

Basuki also stated that the policy was previously set because there were too many vacant pieces of land abandoned by developers. At the same time, the government faced difficulties finding space to build public facilities.

'€œThe limit could be increased from 400 ha as long as the land is developed quickly. From what I have seen, the President does not have much concern about this,'€ said Basuki.

REI chairman Eddy Hussy said that he also proposed the government build the basic infrastructure at the projected housing region beforehand, so developers could lower the prices of houses.