President Tsai pledges 120,000 social housing units by 2024

Taipei, Dec. 4 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has said the government will promote 50 social housing construction projects next year as part of an effort by the central and local governments to build 120,000 social housing units by 2024.

Speaking at a meeting with winners of the 28th Architectural Golden Stone Award at the Presidential Office on Friday, Tsai said the projects next year will be the largest ever and will create about 15,000 social housing units.

The government's goal is to have a total of 120,000 social housing units built by the central and local governments by 2024, Tsai said.

Addressing the government's social housing policy, the president said the ideas of green energy and the circular economy will be incorporated in the projects to improve people's quality of life.

As of October, there were over 40,000 social housing units that had been built or were under construction or awarded through tenders around the country, Tsai said.

According to Ministry of Interior (MOI) statistics, of the 40,000 social housing units, 6,483 units previously existed, 10,689 units were newly built, and 18,901 were under construction as of the end of October.

Tsai invited the recipients of the architecture awards to join the government's efforts in building social housing units and promoting urban renewal to give people the chance to live in safe and comfortable environments.

According to the MOI, the goal of its Social Housing Development Program, which was initiated in 2011, is to build social housing through direct construction or through incentives that encourage people to rent unused residential units to the government to be sub-rented to people in need.

It is estimated that by the end of 2024, some 200,000 social housing units will be available to disadvantaged groups, according to the MOI's description of the program.