The government is planning to renovate out-of-date state-built housing estates in cooperation with the private sector, according to the City Planning and Land Administration Department.
Housing estates built by the government in the middle of the previous century are almost obsolete and in need of full-scale overhauling.
U Myint Khine, director general of the Housing Project Section of the ministry, said that the housing complexes are of poor quality but local investors are interested to develop those due to their often good location in the city.
“When these complexes were built, homeowners tended to have very few commodities. So the apartments were around 400 square feet, but now with people needing more space, apartments should at least be about 600 square feet in size,” U Khine said.
“The lifespan of housing complexes is difficult to estimate as it depends on construction materials and the maintenance system, but engineers say after 50 or 60 years, development is needed,” he added.
However, new housing complex projects in the outskirts of the city will be completed by the government, said Daw Aye Aye Myint, assistant Director of the Urban and Rural Project Sector.
The present housing estates are at Yankin, Lan Thit, 52nd Street and Pyitawthar. Meetings will be held with residents to discuss the renovation of these housing complexes, department officials said.
