Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) will allocate 301 Simple Healthy Instant Housing (RISHA) units to families affected by the recent Mount Ruang eruptions in Sitaro Islands district, North Sulawesi.

"Surrounding areas near Mount Ruang must be vacated. Therefore, our priority is relocation," PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said after a limited meeting on Mount Ruang refugee handling in Jakarta on Friday.

According to him, the local government reported that 301 families needed to be relocated following the government's decision to utilize the area affected by the eruption as a natural conservation area.

"It will be a conservation area," he said.

The minister informed that the RISHA housing provided by the PUPR Ministry will be permanent and have the advantage of being easy and quick to build.

The RISHA housing units will be built in Bolaang Mongondow district, North Sulawesi, on land prepared by the Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning (ATR)/National Land Agency (BPN).

A total of 100 RISHA building units will be sent from supply warehouses in Medan, Jakarta, and Manado, while the rest will be sent from Surabaya, the minister informed.

Based on information on the ministry's website, RISHA housing uses knockdown construction technology and can be built quickly.

RISHA uses reinforced concrete materials in the main structure. This innovation is based on the need to accelerate the provision of housing at affordable prices while maintaining building quality standards.

In February 2023, the ministry built 200 RISHA units to relocate victims of the earthquake in Cianjur, West Java.

Hadimuljono informed that the budget for RISHA procurement for Mount Ruang victims would be covered by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) after an audit by the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).

"Once we built the RISHA unit, BPKP will check and BNPB will pay for it," he said.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus/Mentari Dwi, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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