After 10 years, Taman Bayu Tebrau abandoned project to be revived

JOHOR BARU (June 6): Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWCB), in which state, federal and private entities are stakeholders, will undertake a RM65 million project to revive an abandoned housing project in Johor.

The corporate social responsibility initiative will see all 404 long-suffering purchasers of the ill-fated Taman Bayu Tebrau medium-cost apartments, receive keys to their homes by end 2017, a statement from IWCB said.

Under the rescue plan, IWCB will become the “white knight” to take over and give the project a complete makeover.

Located in Permas Jaya on the eastern corridor of Johor Baru, the four blocks of five-and 10-storey apartments have been left abandoned since 2005.

When launched in 1999, it was touted as Johor’s first waterfront development offering scenic views of the Sungai Tebrau and Sungai Plentong in the area also known as the Plentong Basin.

With selling prices at between RM100,000 and RM120,000 for a three-bedroom unit with a built-up space of about 1,000 sq ft, the apartments were a major hit with nearly 88% of the 460 units sold at the time.

However, the initial joy turned into despair for the purchasers, as the developer ran into financial trouble and construction ground to a halt, leaving the buyers in limbo for over 10 years now, the statement said.

The neglect and rot had also taken its toll on the partially completed apartment blocks, which had since been encroached into by illegal immigrants, drug addicts and criminals.

Despite the dire situation on site, some 35 desperate purchasers had also taken illegal possession of their unfinished homes, living in makeshift conditions.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin, who is also the state assemblyman for Permas where the abandoned project is located, had pledged to rescue and revive the housing estate during the last general election.

“I am happy and proud that the Barisan Nasional government is now very close to fulfilling that promise. This is what we mean by 'janji ditepati' (promise fulfilled),” he declared to cheers from the affected home owners.

He was speaking at a ceremony to launch works by IWCB to revive and rehabilitate Taman Bayu Tebrau at the project site today.

IWCB (formerly known as Tebrau Teguh Berhad) is a listed entity which is 47% owned by Johor-based Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd. The state government, through Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor, or KPRJ, is also a major shareholder in the company.

Khaled said IWCB was picked to initiate the rehabilitation programme because it was a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project involving the state, federal and private equity interests.

“This is a shining example of what can be achieved when the government and private sector collaborate under the PPP model,” he said, adding that the state’s method to rehabilitate the abandoned project could be a model for the whole country.

“I am aware of the hardship and grief suffered by the house buyers. To expedite reconstruction we’ve chosen IWCB which is a PPP company to spearhead the works,” he said.

Meanwhile, IWCB chairman Datuk Ayob Mion said the company would immediately start work to revive, rehabilitate, upgrade and restore Taman Bayu Tebrau to its original glory.

The upgrading work, he said, would include enhanced architecture, improved infrastructure, repair of all structural damages, installation of new equipment and facilities.

IWCB will also build a new direct access road from Permas Jaya, which will also be linked to the nearby SJK(C) Pei Hwa 2 for the convenience of residents.

Ayub promised that the affected house purchasers would get the keys to their revived apartments by end of 2017.

“By then your property values would have escalated by double or triple their original price because of rapid real estate development in this area,” he added.