TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

City to get thousands of low-cost apartment

The Jakarta administration is set to make available around 2,400 new low cost rental apartments (rusunawa) situated at nine locations across the city this year

Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post)
Mon, January 25, 2016

Share This Article

Change Size

City to get thousands of low-cost apartment

T

he Jakarta administration is set to make available around 2,400 new low cost rental apartments (rusunawa) situated at nine locations across the city this year.

Jakarta Housing and Government Buildings Agency head Ika Lestari Aji said that the 2,400 apartments were those whose construction had commenced last year. The 2,400 apartments would be located in Rawa Buaya in West Jakarta, Rawa Bebek, Jl. Bekasi Raya II, Jatinegara Barat, Pinus Elok, Cakung Barat and Jatinegara Kaum in East Jakarta and Semper and Marunda in North Jakarta.

'€œThe new rusunawa can be occupied soon after completion,'€ Ika told reporters at City Hall recently.

She went on to say that the city administration was confronting a low-income housing backlog and was currently attempting to fulfill housing needs in Jakarta.

Last year, Ika said that the city administration had evicted 12,000 families from their homes. However, not all were placed in a rusunawa right away due to a lack of empty units. Many evictees were instead told to find a temporary home and were given letters to guarantee that they would be placed in an apartment when one was made available.

'€œThere is a housing backlog that we must catch up on. We lack of up to 500,000 spaces,'€ Ika said.

Ika further said that the city administration would also get a total of 17,000 new rusunawa next year in 30 locations across five municipalities in the capital.

'€œThis year, construction of 17,000 rusunawa will commence. The apartments will be completed next year,'€ she said, adding that the Housing and Government Buildings Agency would be assisted by private developers, who are set to fund and construct low-cost rental apartments in return for receiving permits to construct commercial buildings in the capital.

The developers include, among others, Agung Podomoro Land as well as city-owned PT Jakarta Propertindo.

The apartments, Ika went on to say, would be located at various locations across the city including in Penjaringan, Nagrak, Cilincing and Rorotan in North Jakarta and in Pulogebang in East Jakarta.

Separately, Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said that evictees and riverbank dwellers would be prioritized for the new low-cost rental apartments. This year, more residents are set to be evicted as the city expands its river normalization project for flood mitigation.

He went on to say that the rusunawa would be equipped with various facilities, such as kiosks, where residents could open businesses, as most evictees had previously worked as food and goods vendors. Furthermore, the buildings would also be equipped with health clinics, mosques, playgrounds and early childhood education centers.

'€œWe hope that the rusunawa can be a sort of incubator for poor residents so that although they enter the rusunawa as a lower-class resident, they can improve their lives and leave the rusunawa in a better financial condition,'€ Ahok said.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.