Jakarta. A Qatari investor inked a deal on Wednesday to invest in 1 million homes in Indonesia as President Prabowo Subianto looks to provide affordable housing for the country’s low-income population.

Housing Minister Maruarar Sirait and Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Thani of Qatar’s Qilaa International Group signed a memorandum of understanding on the housing project at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.  

The government did not say how much money Qatar would pour into the program. However, the Qatari investment would go into funding the construction of 1 million homes, which would mainly comprise vertical housing units. According to Maruarar, the freshly signed pact is a government-to-government partnership.

Indonesia is offering its investors idle state-owned lands. This includes those belonging to state-run enterprises, namely the railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia, the housing firm Perumnas, and the construction company PTPP. Lands owned by the Finance Ministry and the State Secretariat are also available. The lands offered to investors mainly lie in urban areas. Qatar later will conduct surveys to find out which area they wish to start with.

“Some options include lands in [Jakarta’s] Kemayoran, Senayan, and Kalibata,” Maruarar told reporters.

Later that day, Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said that Qatar would provide the financing and contractors.

“We have discussed the mortgage schemes,” the minister said, without going into more details.

Al Thani himself said his team would work on the project “professionally”.

“This is a message from the Qatari Emir [Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani] that there is a strong relationship between Indonesia and Qatar,” he said.

Prabowo aims to construct 2 million homes in Indonesian villages each year. The retired army general also sets a target to build 1 million houses in cities annually. This program aims to address the country’s housing backlog of around 12.7 million units. 

The latest government figures show that Qatar has invested $8.25 million in Indonesia in 2024 as of the end of September. The Qatari investment went to 13 projects.