A comprehensive national housing strategy will be ready by September this year to address housing shortage in the country. The Department of Human Settlement is developing the strategy, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The industry, commerce and employment minister shared this during the Meet the Press session today.
The strategy will incorporate home ownership schemes with a savings-linked mechanism. This mechanism will enable individuals to save for home ownership, while the government will support these efforts through bonuses, subsidies, and other financial incentives.
“The ministry will also assess housing demand and supply. Many real estate agents are building and selling houses. But this strategy will help align supply with actual demand. The government has set aside Nu 1.5bn for housing development,” said Namgyal Dorji, Industry, Commerce and Employment Minister.
The minister also shared that 1,000 rental housing units will be constructed under the Green and Resilient Affordable Housing Sector Project.
The project is worth USD 37 M. An additional USD 1 M is contributed by the Asian Development Bank. It is led by the Ministry of Finance and implemented by the National Housing Development Corporation Limited (NHDCL).
“The housing units will be built in Trashi Yangtse, Samdrup Jongkhar, Nganglam, Pema Gatshel, Phuentshogling, Samtse, Chhukha and Thimphu. NHDCL houses will be affordable and will be for people from humble backgrounds,” added the Industry, Commerce and Employment Minister.
Additionally, a USD 3 M grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction has also been approved. This grant will support the construction of 50 housing units.
This year, the Green and Resilient Affordable Housing Sector project aims to construct 378 housing units, with another 391 housing units planned for next year.
Singye Dema
Edited by Sonam Pem
