Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto’s 3 million housing program could be another project that might pique the interest of American businesses. However, American investors are more likely to take part in the ambitious project by supplying the house’s components such as air conditioners (ACs) rather than constructing the buildings themselves, according to the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC). 

Prabowo wants to build 3 million houses annually for Indonesia’s low-income households.  He plans on building 2 million affordable homes in Indonesia’s rural areas, and 1 million homes in cities a year to solve the country’s housing shortage. The government said foreign investors had shown huge interest in the program with Qatar the first one to actually invest between $16 billion and $20 billion in the project. The Qatari investment will go into building 1 million vertical housing units over idle state-owned lands in urban areas.

Brian McFeeters, a top brass at the USABC, told the press on Tuesday that the program could be something that American businesses might want to try  to tap into. The American businesses, however, will likely not be interested in building the structure, but rather supplying the components needed for the project.

“The [housing program] might be something that the USABC would not directly invest in, but they would want to supply [the technologies]. American businesses might find it very interesting. We [USABC] have a company that supplies air conditioners, you know. So that is something that US companies would want to do,” McFeeters said in Jakarta.

He added: “So, supplying the technologies and components. Something like that.”

The USABC houses American corporation giants with operations in the Southeast Asian region. Official government figures showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the US to Indonesia totaled $2.8 billion in January-September 2024. Aside from Qatar, the Indonesian government claimed that the project had gained interest from China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as Japan. The housing program targets low-income households, particularly informal workers and people who earn less than Rp 8 million ($489) a month. 

Last month, Prabowo hosted USABC members at the State Palace. As seen in the publicly aired part of Prabowo’s opening remarks, the president said that his Merah Putih (‘Red and White’) cabinet had been “very active” in working towards the targets that he had set. The broadcast, however, did not see Prabowo mentioning the housing program.

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