Chile will increase the quality and size of social housing and give added housing subsidies to the poorest, under a new government housing program, the country's president told media on Tuesday.

President Michelle Bachelet said that with the new program, Chile sought to boost housing quality, reduce the housing deficit in the poorest areas, improve infrastructure and services and achieve social integration.

Families living below the poverty line and currently receiving a subsidy, or those seeking social housing in poor rural areas, would also be eligible for a housing grant worth around 1,700 U.S. dollars, Bachelet said.

"I said already on May 21 (and) it is written into my program for governing: we want pleasant cities, with worthy homes and neighborhoods," she said.

Patricia Poblete, Chile's housing minister, said that the new measures were aimed at addressing a deficiency that had lasted for years.

"(Previously), emphasis was placed on the number of houses, not their size or quality," Poblete said.

The new plan will also establish a new fund to lend money to Chilean families whose economic circumstances prevented their access to normal bank loans, even if they were not living below the poverty line.

Source: Xinhua