REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA -- Housing is still one of the biggest needs of the Indonesia people 72 years after the country's independence, Minister of Housing and Public Works Basuki Hadimuljono said here on Saturday.

In view of that, providing cheap houses will remain to be given priority by the government, he stated, adding that until 2019, the government plans to build 4 million low-cost houses to meet the needs of the low-income people.

"Until 2019, we will strive to build 4 million houses at a budget of Rp74 trillion," he noted in a dialog on "Reflection of 72 Years of Indonesia's independence, Cooperation for the Glory of Indonesia" at state University of Gajahmada.

He remarked that the 4 million target was set following the speedy progress of housing development until this year.

Since the 1 million low-cost housing development program was launched in 2015, a total of 1.5 million houses had been built until 2016, while until August this year, a total of 449 thousand units had already been realized.

"This means that providing low-cost houses will still be a priority of President Joko Widodo. This is also intended to overcome the backlog that has already reached 11.6 million," the minister revealed.

"For the past 72 years after independence, food and housing have been the basic needs that have always been discussed."

The strong demand of the public could be seen at the Property Expo 2017, which has been opened by Widodo.

Out of the 201 stands, 20 have been set up exclusively for subsidized housing exhibition sold from Rp120 million to Rp140 million.

"Immediately after being opened, 200 orders have been received for subsidized houses. Therefore, people are still in need," he pointed out. 

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