Deputy Minister of Housing and Residential Areas Fahri Hamzah stated that national housing development now places area improvement as the main priority before renovating or building new houses in order to prevent damage to houses due to slum areas.
"Indeed, the challenge is that current development must be modified with our interests in improving our region, improving our city," said Fahri at the National Gathering of the Association of Housing and Settlement Developers of Indonesia (Apersi), in Jakarta, Monday.
According to him, houses built without improving the surrounding area will quickly deteriorate, so area-based renovation is a new approach designed to encourage mutual cooperation and active community participation in development.
"Yesterday I met with several governors and communicated about designing unsuitable areas," he said again.
He said all assistance will now be competitive, and will only be given to regions that are able to design livable areas in their entirety through collaboration between regents/mayors and governors with local architects in the region.
"So now we at the Ministry (of Housing and Residential Areas) will no longer drop aid carelessly, but everything will be competed. Regents and mayors design the houses to be renovated. Provinces, governors design the residential areas to be renovated," he said.