Public Housing Renewal Taskforce head David Collett would not provide a detailed breakdown of where the apartments and townhouses are, saying it would not be in the best interests of future tenants to identify properties as public housing.

But he said the public housing was being spread across the city, "consistent with the government's salt and pepper policy".

"One of the aims of the ACT Government's public housing renewal program is to break down concentrations of disadvantage and their associated social problems and stigma," he said.

As part of its ambitious plan to replace 1288 public housing units with the demolition of the Allawah, Currong and Bega apartments in the city, the swathe of public housing in Northbourne Avenue, the Stuart, Red Hill and Gowrie Court flats, and Strathgordon Court, the government is building and buying around the city.

Of the 203 bought in the first round, Mr Collett said 66 were in Gungahlin (Casey, Franklin, Palmerston, Moncrieff and Bonner), 75 in central Canberra (Turner, O'Connor, Dickson, Downer and Lyneham), 30 in Tuggeranong (Kambah) and 32 in Belconnen (Holt and Macgregor).

There were 165 townhouses, 37 apartments and one house, with most of them two-bedroom units (124 two-bedroom, 67 three-bedroom, 1 four-bedroom and one one-bedroom)

Mr Collett said releasing suburb details "would enable identification of potential public housing sites".

"This is not in the best interests of integrating future tenants into their new communities," he said.

Despite Mr Collett's reluctance to reveal where the government is buying units from builders and developers, the government freely identifies sites where it is building its own public housing.

It has 400 units in train, in groups of up to 40, although, mostly fewer. To date, they are:

Molonglo

150 units, in groups of up to 33, on six separate sites in Coombs, Molonglo

Gungahlin

134 units in Moncrieff, in developments of up to 40, across five sites, plus 12 free-standing homes

13 units in Kelleway Avenue, Nicholls

21 units in Armada Street and Mornington Streets, Amaroo

A possible development on the corner of Nullarbor Ave and Oodgeroo Avenues, Franklin

Tuggeranong

25 units in Clive Steele Avenue, Monash, Tuggeranong

20 units in Goldstein Crescent, Chisholm, Tuggeranong

26 units on the corner of Drakeford Drive and Mortimer Lewis Drive, Greenway, Tuggeranong

Belconnen

12 units in Starke Street, Holt, Belconnen

Possible sites in Stirling (Weston Creek), Denman Prospect (Molonglo) and Throsby (Gungahlin).

Mr Collett said the government would call a second expression of interest this month for between 300 and 400 dwellings. The call would remain open until the numbers had been reached, he said.

"The taskforce is looking for properties across the metropolitan area but is particularly interested in dwellings in north and south Canberra and the Woden area," he said.

"Two bedroom dwellings are of particular interest although one, three and four bedroom will also be considered. Proposals for detached houses, cottage/courtyard housing, townhouses and apartments will all be considered."