The city administration is aiming to finish building 1,900 low-cost apartment units across the city by the end of this year, to provide affordable housings for low-income residents.

The apartments are located in areas such as Marunda in North Jakarta; and Cakung Barat, Cipinang Besar Selatan and Pinus Elok, in East Jakarta.

"The bidding process will be completed by the end of May. So we estimate the construction will start in June," said Agus Subardono, head of the city housing and governmental office agency, recently.

"We will mostly be continuing the ongoing project that was not finished last year. We are certain all projects will be finished by the end of this year," he said.

The agency, he said, will also begin building the basic structure for low-cost apartment in Pulo Gebang, East Jakarta.

"We hope the upcoming thousands of units can fulfill the proper housing needs for low-income residents, especially evictees," he said.

He, however, said the number was not enough to accommodate all residents. Based on the agency's analysis, the capital needed about 70,000 low-cost apartment units for the next 10 years.

"It will be hard for us to procure the 70,000 units, because as of today, we only have 6,000 units, which are available in 13 areas. That's why we encourage developers to take part in building low-cost apartments," said Agus.

"But of the 6,000 units, only 5,650 units are occupied, while the remaining are still vacant," he said.

In many cases, people, especially squatters, are reluctant to live in apartments because they are not used to live in high-rise buildings.

They have also complained they cannot afford to pay building fees, for instance charges for sanitation services.

"They later decide to go back to live under toll roads or along the city's riverbanks and rent their units to other people," Mangantas Tampubolon, head of the agency's low-cost apartments division, said earlier.

He said the administration would get rid of illegal renters and those who repeatedly paid their rent late.

Over the past few years, the administration has evicted squatters living along the city's riverbanks and under toll roads.

The slum dwellers were later relocated to low-cost apartments across the city, but complained the apartment areas were too far from the heart of the city.

Based on a bylaw on low-cost apartment rates, there are three categories of monthly rent: Rp 446,000 (US$41) to 545,000 for the general public; Rp 283,000 to Rp 345,000 for civil servants and laborers; and Rp 90,000 to Rp 110,000 for evictees.

Experts have said people previously living in slum areas needed to be informed before moving into apartments to better adapt to their new surroundings and avoid culture shocks.

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