Low-cost homes capped at B250m
Treasury to build projects on state land
The Treasury Department estimates that investment in each low-rise condominium project with 500 units under the government’s cheap housing scheme will not exceed 250 million baht, its chief says.
Each condo unit with a 23-24-squaremetre space will cost 500,000 baht, said Chakkrit Parapuntakul, director-general of the Treasury Department.
The department itself will take charge of construction of the low-cost homes under the Pracha Rat (People’s State) initiative and these projects will be built on state land, he said.
The first low-cost housing projects in Bangkok will be built on a plot behind the former site of the Royal Mint on Pradiphat Road and on Soi Wat Phai Ton in Phaya Thai district.
The Treasury Department has flagged six state land plots, two of them in Bangkok, for construction of 3,400 low-cost homes.
The scheme is aimed at allowing lowincome earners to afford a 30-year lease or mortgage on a home.
Mr Chakkrit said the condo units will be rented at no more than 3,000 baht a month, far lower than monthly rents of 20,000 to 30,000 baht in nearby areas.
The Treasury Department will build good-quality homes for low-income earners, he said.
Civil servants and state employees on low incomes are the main targets of the low-cost condo projects.
The Treasury Department is now setting the qualifications for renters, including monthly income.
For the cheap-housing projects to be built by the private sector, condos and homes will be priced at 700,000 and 900,000 baht respectively per unit.
In the meantime, Mr Chakkrit said the national e-payment system could reduce coin use in the next five years.
In the initial stage of the implementation of e-payments, coin demand would not be lowered as it would take longer for rural areas to access the cashless system than urban areas, he said.
However, a change in coin demand would be seen five years after e-payment implementation as paying through the electronic system would rise, he said.
Moreover, the increasing use of cards to pay for public transport would also reduce coin demand.
Coins worth a combined 54 billion baht are in circulation in the country. Each coin can be used for 10-12 years.
Mr Chakkrit said an attempt to recirculate coins left idle in donation boxes and piggy banks would help reduce the Treasury Department’s burden in producing new coins.
The department is seeking convenient channels for people to exchange coins left in donation boxes and piggy banks, he said.
Separately, the department will host the 29th Mint Directors Conference from May 1-8 in Bangkok. Executives from 47 mints in 43 countries are expected to attend the eight-day event.