Thailand’s Treasury Dept to Initiate Eight Affordable Housing Projects in Chiang Rai

CHIANG RAI – The government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand, (NLA) has assigned the Treasury Department to develop state property into low income housing in Chiang Rai Province.

Department Director-General Patchara Anantasilp of the Treasury Department visited a government surplus land plot located in Wiang sub-district of Chiang Rai this week and said his department is planning to use the three-rai plot to build 352 housing units, priced at 350,000 to 700,000 baht.

He told Thai media that there are seven private firms bidding on the project, and the winning contractor could be announced as early as September 20th. Construction is estimated to take about a year.

He said that state welfare cardholders will be given first priority to reserve units, before opening up applications to those earning no more than 35,000 baht a month. Each group will be allowed to make reservations on the units after the application period for the previous group expires. She noted that only one reservation is allowed per person.

Since September 15th, the Treasury Department has set up a booth at Samakkhi Witthayakhom School in Chiang Rai to process reservations for the units in this project, along with seven other housing projects. Those interested can also apply via the department website, www.treasury.go.th.

The requests will be forwarded to the Government Housing Bank and the Government Saving Bank for further consideration.

The mortgage for these properties range from 1,700 – 4,500 baht per month. Those who cannot fulfill the loan requirement have the option of leasing a unit for nine months, before submitting their loan application.

By Nuppol Suvansombut