Housing minister to declare start of building low-cost apartments in four citties

Padang, West Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Housing affairs minister M Yusuf Asy`ari during a visit to Padang, West Sumatra provincial capital, on Monday, led a ground breaking ceremony marking the start of the construction of a low-cost apartment for rent in the university campus in Padang, and ceremonies are held for similar projects in Jambi, Gresik, Palu and Makassar, an official said.

"Similar ground breaking ceremonies in the building of low-cost apartments for rent were simultaneously held in the other four cities," Zulfi Syarif Koto, deputy of formal housing affairs of Public Housing Ministry said here on Sunday.

The minister, will through a teleconference, simultaneously lead the ground breaking ceremonies, the official said.

According to him, the minister will also use the opportunity to call at a low-cost house for a chat with its occupants.

The effort to expedite the building of low-cost houses for rent is aimed to reach the so-called "Millennium housing development target, and expecting assistance of the Public Works Ministry under its decree no.5/2007 in the funding of low-cost apartment buildings.

The issuance of the regulation is expected to accelerate the building of low-cost houses for rent in 10 other like Medan, Batam, Palembang, Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Banjarmasin and Makassar, he added.