National panel on housing policy gets nod

General News - Wednesday December 19, 2007

National panel on housing policy gets nod

Cabinet also approves a set of goals, strategies

ANJIRA ASSAVANONDA

A national housing policy committee will be set up to promote adequate housing development and tackle human settlement issues across the country. The cabinet yesterday agreed to a proposal to establish a national committee which will act as a main organisation to issue policies and guidelines for every agency responsible for the country's housing projects, according to Deputy Social Development and Human Security Minister Poldej Pinprateep.

Mr Poldej made the disclosure yesterday at an annual seminar on Thailand's housing policy organised by the Thai Appraisal Foundation.

The cabinet yesterday also approved a set of housing guidelines which consist of five goals and seven strategies.

The goals focus on the adequacy of housing units, housing security, standard and quality, and consistent development of housing projects.

The strategies include promoting housing development issues as a national agenda; providing public utilities for both state and private housing projects; promoting financial and mortgage systems to support people's acquisition of housing units; building up cooperation among all stakeholders; strengthening community and social ties in each housing project; and upgrading the quality and standard of housing projects.

Mr Poldej's disclosure was welcome by housing experts and real estate developers at yesterday's seminar.

Kitti Patpongpibul, president of the Housing Finance Association (HFA), said Thailand is in need of a state entity with full authority to direct policies and guidelines for housing development.

''Currently, we have several agencies responsible for housing development which have worked separately and in different directions. That's why many projects failed,'' Mr Kitti said.

He said Thailand's neighbours such as Malaysia and Indonesia already have the ministry of housing, while Vietnam has the ministry of construction. ''Those agencies have the authority to give guidelines for other relevant organisations to follow,'' he said.

Ladawan Thanathanit, another HFA executive, said the establishment of a national housing policy committee would be a stepping stone for housing development in Thailand.

Sophon Pornchokechai, president of the Thai Appraisal Foundation, urged the government to review some housing policies, particularly housing projects for the poor.

He said the number of government housing units for the poor has exceeded the real demand because of wrong information it obtained about the existing slum communities.

''We were told that about 5,000 poor communities were encroaching on public land, but from the foundation's survey there were only 1,589 communities in trouble, accounting for 3% of the population,'' Mr Sophon said.

Bangkok Post