12,000 New Houses In 5 Yrs

The Ministry of Development has unveiled plans for the construction of more than 12,000 housing units for the national housing needs.

The housing units are under the Rancangan Perumahan Negara (RPN) or National Housing Scheme and Skim Tanah Kurnia Rakyat Jati (STKRJ) or Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme under the 2007-2012 National Development Plan, as well as residual housing under the previous National Development Plan.

Also in line with national sheltering strategy, the Infill Scheme and issuing of land titles to qualified recipients have been implemented since the 1980s. To date, more than 2,010 land titles have been issued and more will be issued in the future.

The ministry's immediate challenge is to optimise the available scarce land resources for housing. It is currently looking at alternative means in delivering more houses in a more timely manner, increasing land density, contracting bigger housing packages and using non-traditional construction, while maintaining the ministry's theme of providing quality and affordable homes for the Brunei citizens, it said.

As the available means are being explored in search for better alternatives in the speedy but cost effective delivery of housing units within the constraints of existing laws and regulations, the ministry will be maintaining the qualities seen in the previous housing designs in terms of the structural integrity, the needs for community interaction and development.

The ministry is also looking into the possibility of involving more third party participants to complement the efforts conducted by the Brunei Economic Development Board to build an additional 2,000 houses in two years, which will add to the planned construction of 10,000 houses built by the ministry.

The ministry is also cooperating with other agencies such as the Brunei Islamic Council in identifying and building houses for the Daif or very poor people.

In the next two years, more than 50 houses will be built under the first phase of the welfare programme. The ministry is also cooperating with other nongovernmental agencies such as the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation, assistance from the community development department under a continuous welfare programme to allocate land for the construction of houses as well as assistance in building houses for the needy and destitute.

In Brunei Darussalam, for the 10th time this December, the Ministry of Development will mark the World Habitat Day.

In commemorating the World Habitat Day 2008, the housing development department will hold a series of events such as construction materials exhibition, road show and bicyclathon.

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October each year as World Habitat Day to reflect the state of the towns and cities of the world and the basic right to adequate shelter for all, as well as to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

This year, the United Nations has chosen the theme of `Harmonious Cities' to raise awareness about the problems of rapid urbanisation, its environment impact, the growth of slums, and the urbanisation of poverty as more people teem into towns and cities to look for a better life.

In an age when half of the humanity is now living in towns and cities, the quest for adequate shelter for all, along with basic services such water, sanitation, electricity and so on is more urgent than ever, especially in developing countries. There should be also no illusion that cities have the greatest impact on the environment and climate change, where they are poorly managed with weak governance structures, it is their citizens and their surroundings that suffer.