TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry is in the process of drafting a presidential regulation on property banks. The Ministry is scheduled to present the bill draft to Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution in the next two weeks.
“We hope [the bill] will be enacted in three months after [the draft] is sent to the Coordinating [Economic] Minister. The property bank operator will become a land keeper, land purchaser, and land distributor. It will serve as a public service agency,” Himawan Arif, Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister’s expert staff, said in Jakarta on Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
Under the regulation, property bank operators can acquire lands in three methods. The first one is made through a decision of the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister.
“The Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister reserves the right to decide that idle lands are owned by the state,” Himawan said.
In addition, property bank owners can acquire lands through a procurement mechanism financed by their budgets or the State Budget.
“The third way is through active participations of stakeholders. It can take a form of land consolidation or grant, so that lands can be developed more efficiently,” he added.
After a land is procured, Himawan explained, it will be managed and offered to individuals to be utilized for housing, industrial zone, tourist destinations, and other purposes.
“We will offer the lands to anyone with the best proposal,” Himawan said.
In terms of housing for low-income people, property bank operators will require cheap housing constructions.
“We will provide building rights on the land. In terms of housing for low-income people, it’s not necessarily profit-oriented,” he said.
ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI
