Affordable Housing Provision for Workers Constructing Nusantara, the New Capital City of Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is an important ongoing example of a country relocating its capital city for economic and environmental reasons amid numerous challenges. The new capital city site is located far from existing cities, with limited infrastructure and only a small population. One major challenge entails how and where best to house the large population of construction workers coming to build the city. Learning from global experiences, some new capital cities had thought about providing affordable housing for people but failed to recognize the importance of housing for the construction workers who built the city. As a result, informal settlements have proliferated inside and around the cities, posing challenges for a long time. This thesis explores the efforts in providing affordable housing for construction workers in Nusantara and the challenges that come with ensuring equal access to housing for all, particularly around the aspects of (1) the adequacy of housing for construction workers; (2) stakeholders involved in the provision; (3) procedures of the housing provision. To address the issue of providing accommodation to construction workers in Nusantara, the government of Indonesia has built housing for construction workers called Hunian Pekerja Konstruksi (HPK). However, there is a possibility of quantitative inadequacy of this housing both in the short and long run. The housing is the responsibility of the Nusantara Capital City Authority and Badan Usaha Milik Otorita (BUMO), with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing assisting them in constructing the housing. It is a good step worth appreciating for the Indonesian government to develop housing for construction workers that can lower the possibility of informal settlement. Nevertheless, it is also important to acknowledge some challenges that need to be addressed despite the effort. Keywords: Indonesia, New Capital City, Nusantara, Housing for Construction Workers