Jakarta, July 3 -- The Indonesian government has allocated Rp43.6 trillion (over US$2.6 billion) to renovate 2 million uninhabitable houses in rural areas.

Deputy Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas Fahri Hamzah said Thursday that each house will receive a renovation budget of Rp21.8 million. However, he stressed that the challenge extends beyond funding.

"Our capacity for mass renovations currently reaches only 140,000 houses per year. Achieving the 2-million target is impossible without the help of technology," he said.

Hamzah noted that in many villages, extended families often share a single home, many of which are considered uninhabitable. These conditions are widespread across Indonesia, including in coastal areas, along riv...