Government Targets 15,000 RTLH Surgeries at the Border to be Completed in September

JAKARTA - The government targets that the program to improve the quality of 15,000 uninhabitable houses (RTLH) in border areas can be completed by September 2026 at the latest.

Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning Maruarar Sirait (Ara) said the implementation of the program would begin after the target data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) was submitted and verified.

"If it can be verified in a week, then in early May we should be able to (start construction). At the latest, by September this year we must finish," said Ara as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, April 23.

He explained that the program covers 17 provinces and 40 regencies/cities in the country's border areas.

The program is prioritized to strengthen the state's presence in the border area as well as improve the quality of life of the community.

Ara said the house surgery was carried out through the Self-Help Housing Stimulus Assistance (BSPS) scheme which was part of the national target of renovating 400,000 houses.

"Well, this is a surgery of 15,000 houses in 400,000," he said.

According to him, the implementation time of the BSPS program requires an average of four to five months from the completion of the data collection and verification process.

"We are working on it, an average of 4 months to 5 months of the process," he said.

He emphasized that the government wanted the implementation of programs in border areas to run quickly so that the benefits could be felt immediately by the community.

Ara added that the 15,000 units program was initially allocated 10,000 houses, but was then increased to expand the improvement of residents' living conditions in border areas.

"We don't want to be responsible, that's why I added not only 10,000, 15,000. (Houses) This is the front, the front yard of our neighbors," he said.

Furthermore, the Government considers that improving the quality of housing in border areas is also necessary to strengthen the welfare of the community as well as supporting the country's territorial resilience.

According to him, the acceleration of implementation is important to be carried out so that people in the border area can immediately feel the benefits of the program.