President Ollanta Humala on Thursday called on construction firms to build housing for low-income residents in the Andean nation as part of the government’s efforts to promote social inclusion.
President Humala said the construction of housing for the country’s poorer sectors is a “tool of social inclusion,” state news agency Andina reported.
Promoting social inclusion has been at the center of President Humala’s administration since he took office last year. The government has launched new social programs and expanded on existing ones in an attempt to close income inequality and decrease poverty.
Humala said that the government would provide support to construction firms to increase low-income housing. Peru will look to decrease its housing deficit by 50 percent, he said.
“The Peruvian state promotes construction and the goal is that we build 500,000 homes, that is what we are going to work on in the next five years,” Humala said.
Construction has boomed in Peru this year, driven by demand for new homes, malls, as well as industrial developments. The construction sector is expected to grow by about 15 percent this year, the president said.
