Ministry of Construction starts implementing the smart city projects in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay, said Union Minister for Construction U Han Zaw. 

In a bid to fulfill the public’s housing demands, Urban and Housing Development Department at the Ministry of Construction conducts a survey on population growth rate, family income and housing needs and implement short-and long-term housing projects. 

The country needs one million housing units according to the population growth rate between 2011 and 2030. On average, it needs to develop over 30,000 housing units every year. But it can only satisfy 20 per cent of the housing demands due to the lack of lands, funds and production capacity. Urban and Housing Development Department will provide private developers with necessary bylaws and legal protections for the development of the remaining 80 per cent, according to Deputy Minister U Kyaw Lin.

More than 20,000 government staff retire on average in a year. As around two-thirds of them want to buy apartments, the ministry needs to develop more than 13,000 units a year, Deputy Minister U Kyaw Lin continued. 

In 2018-19 fiscal year, the ministry developed 812 public rental housing units in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay by spending a Union budget of Ks 15 billion. In 2019-20 FY, the ministry plans to build 120 units in Nay Pyi Taw. Other region and state governments are implementing the rental housing projects for civil servants, with the use of their funds, the deputy minister added. 

From 2017 to 2019, Urban and Housing Development Department at the Ministry of Construction developed 8,416 housing units for low-income families including civil servants, Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw and other cities. The ministry sells low and fair-priced housing units to civil servants and the public proportionally, through the long-term housing loan system.