Prime Minister James Marape has commended Lands and Physical Planning Minister John Rosso on passage of the Strata Title Management Bill 2022 and accompanying bills and amendments in Parliament today (March 23 2022). The bill allows for people to buy units and apartments in high-rise buildings because of increasing shortage of land and a growing population. PM Marape said the law was brought in to modernise the way business was done in lands and housing in the country. The Prime Minister said smaller Pacific countries like Fiji and Vanuatu already had strata title laws “This is a response to our country’s need for housing,” he said. “The minister has worked very hard on this at the sunset of this term of Parliament.” PM Marape said it should not be forgotten that only 3 per cent of the 462,000 square km of land in the country was State-owned. He said with the ever-increasing demand for land, there was a need for cheaper housing, and the new law provided for this so people could buy units and apartments in high-rise buildings. PM Marape said this law was just one of many that his Government had passed since it came into Office in May 2019. “This law was first talked about 20 years ago,” he said. “It may seem just like any ordinary Act of Parliament that we’re passing today, however, far that. “This has a direct value on the economy. “If one person owns a piece of real estate in an urban area and decides to build a 20-floor building, in which you can find over 60-70 units, these can be individually titled out. “You don’t need to own a piece of land to have title to an apartment that you can call as home. “This is a law to modernise some of the legacy issues that we have carried through.” PM Marape thanked both sides of Parliament for giving their support for passage of the new law.