About 270,000 people have registered for the government's "Home for Thais" project since it was launched on Jan 17, the Transport Ministry reported on Saturday.
More than half of those applicants, or 140,000 people, passed preliminary screening for a loan with the Government Housing Bank, according to Deputy Transport Minister Surapong Piyachote.
The project is aimed at providing affordable housing for low-income individuals and new graduates, and has already been the subject of much interest.
"From Jan 17 to Feb 4, the project's website had a total of 75 million visits, with 270,000 people registering to participate," he said.
The area with the most registrations is on Vibhavadi Road in Bangkok. Another three popular locations are in Thon Buri in Bangkok, Muang district in Pathum Thani and Muang district in Chiang Mai. The projects will be located on unused plots owned by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), which expects to hand them over for development by the end of the year, he said.
"Since each area has many people who have registered, having met the eligibility criteria, the Government Lottery Office will be assigned to handle a lottery draw for the first phase to ensure maximum transparency," he said.
In the four pilot areas, there will be a total of almost 5,000 units. Those who register but miss out in the first phase lottery draw will still have the right to enter the random draw in succeeding phases, he said.
In addition, Mr Surapong said Phase 2 will launch with approximately 10,000 units, which would be followed by the third and fourth phases.
"The target is that by 2025, there will be a total of 100,000 units, and transfers to those granted the right to live in them will begin by 2026," he said.
The next areas to be developed will focus on large cities with dense populations.
The ultimate purpose of the project is to provide affordable housing that also allows people to commute to their workplaces.
For example, in Kanchanaburi, one area near Kanchanaburi Railway Station and another near Saphan Khwai Yai bus stop in Muang district have been earmarked for condominiums, single houses, twin houses, and commercial buildings, with 1,500 out of 4,000 units completed by 2026, he said.
Mr Surapong said SRT Asset Company Limited, a business arm of the SRT, plans to increase its capital registration from 200 million baht to 1 billion baht to support the project which would yield certain income from tenants and is considered risk-free.