Seskab Teddy Reveals 15,000 Housing for Victims of the Sumatra Disaster is Targeted to be Completed in 3 Months

JAKARTA - The government targets the construction of 15,000 housing units for disaster-affected residents in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, to be completed within three months, as part of accelerating post-flood disaster handling in the Sumatra region.

"A total of 15,000 units are targeted to be completed in the next 3 months," said Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, December 28.

He said, Danantara had started the construction of 15,000 units of houses from SOEs.

Of these, the first 500 units are targeted to be completed this week.

The housing will be equipped with basic facilities in the form of clean water sanitation, houses of worship, electricity, wifi network, and supporting facilities for children.

In parallel, he continued, the National Disaster Management Agency has also started the construction of 4,500 temporary housing units spread across the three affected provinces.

The Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning has also started the construction of permanent housing in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

He said that 2,500 units of the first phase had been built last week on government land which is a state-owned enterprise asset. Furthermore, 2,500 units of the second phase are planned to be built starting early next week.

The construction of temporary and permanent housing is carried out with a number of provisions, including not being in a disaster-prone area, having adequate access to main roads and public facilities, and being located relatively close to the residence and work activities of affected residents.

Teddy hopes that the local government can play an active role in the process of providing locations, preparing land, and arranging the relocation of residents to temporary and permanent housing that has been prepared.

"Local governments are also expected to play an active role in the process of providing locations and relocating residents of these dwellings," he said.