Deputy Minister Of Finance Suahasil: Program 3 Million Houses Is The Key To National Economic Growth

President Director of BTN Nixon LP Napitupulu, together with Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara. (Photo: Doc. BTN)

JAKARTA - The housing sector is considered to be the key to Indonesia's economic growth amid global uncertainty due to the high use of local components.

Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara said the housing sector could move the Indonesian economy in the midst of global challenges because the housing sector uses local raw materials. For example, this sector uses raw materials and original Indonesian workers that can spur economic activity and its various derivative sectors.

"The housing sector is one of the important agendas carried by the Government of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as stated in the Three Million Houses Program which carries the mandate of fulfilling three million residences per year in rural and urban areas," said Suahasil at the BTN Priority Economic Outlook and Chinese New Year 2025 themed Year of Wooden Snake, Wisdom and Balance in the Midst of Global Economy Dynamics, Wednesday 5 February.

According to Suahasil, to increase economic growth, the Government sees the need to use domestic production, which originated from Indonesian manufacturing and Indonesian natural resources, because it could create a multiplier effect.

All the main input items or raw materials in the national housing sector, such as sand, bricks, cement, paint, tiles, wood, and others, come from within the country. Development with a local content is what we are looking for," said Suahasil.

Suahasil added, BTN as a government partner in supporting financing for public housing is an important and inseparable element of the national housing ecosystem. In particular, Suahasil appreciated the role of BTN customers in Priority that supports the housing ecosystem through third party funds placed in BTN. The reason is, these funds become raw materials to be channeled into construction loans to developers and home ownership loans (KPR) to consumers, especially low-income people.

As a form of government support commitment to BTN's contribution to the housing sector, Suahasil emphasized that the government has provided funding in the form of Housing Financing Liquidity Facilities (FLPP), supported by various tax incentives and efficiency in the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) so that the subsidies provided can be more targeted.

FLPP is a very big program. Over the past decade from 2015 to 2024, the government through FLPP has built 1.1 million housing units for the MBR category. We are currently working on how to make FLPP even stronger. The President (Prabowo) has conveyed various directions on how we can build a three million house in a year, and how stakeholders in the ecosystem, such as banks, governments, and the private sector also play a role, "said Suahasil.

On the same occasion, the President Director of BTN Nixon LP Napitupulu appreciated various government policies to support Indonesians to have livable and affordable houses. These include the extension of the Government-Borrowed Value Added Tax (PPN DTP) incentive and the easing of the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) which made it easier for mortgages without advance until the end of 2025, as well as a reduction in the benchmark interest rate of Bank Indonesia to 5.75 percent in January 2025 which is expected to help increase demand for housing loans.

Nixon also appreciated the government for continuing to actively discuss with BTN to support the Three Million Houses program.

Nixon continued, through this Economic Outlook event, it was a form of BTN's commitment to support BTN customers Priority in making decisions that were right in the midst of the dynamics of the global economy which was constantly changing and challenging. Among these challenges are the trade policy of the United States which will have an impact on China as Indonesia's main trading partner and the condition of banking liquidity which is still quite tight.

"We hope that the stimulus from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Settlements can encourage even faster growth in the housing sector and accelerate national economic growth. We also thank BTN customers who have been kind to attend this event. Of course, we always hope that business will continue to run well in 2025," said Nixon.