Gov’t Begins Construction of Permanent Houses for Flood Victims in E. Nusa Tenggara

Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing begins the construction of permanent houses for flood and landslide victims in East Nusa Tenggara. (Photo by: Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing)

In a bid to provide resettlement for residents affected by flood and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara, Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing plans to build permanent houses that allow short construction period called RISHA (Healthy Modest Instant House).

In one of the locations for the resettlement, namely in Waisesa 1, Tanjung Baru Village, Lembata Regency, 4.3 out of 10 hectares of land has been pegged by the Ministry. As many as 154 units of permanent houses will be built in the location.

Currently, the Ministry is laying the groundwork in the Waisesa 1 construction site. The construction of two RISHA mockup houses is also being carried out and is targeted for completion in the next two weeks. The construction of the two mockup houses will also be carried out in other locations after the land pegging and the land grant process.

“We will also conduct geoelectric testing to ensure the availability of clean water sources on the land that will be built for the settlement,” Head of the Ministry’s Disaster Management Task Force in East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara Widiarto said.

According to Widiarto, the estimated cost for the RISHA house construction requires a multi-year budget of around Rp338 billion, namely the 2021 budget of Rp236 billion and the 2022 budget of Rp102 billion.

The budget, he said, is required to build 1,000 RISHA units, consisting of 700 units in Lembata and 300 units in Adonara. In addition to the two locations, the regional government has proposed four additional locations for the resettlement, namely in Kupang Regency (around 14 housing units), Kupang City (around 530 housing units), Alor Regency (around 599 housing units), and Rote Ndao Regency (153 housing units). (PR of Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing/UN) (FI/LW)