1,345 housing developers blacklisted, says Kong

DENGKIL: Housing and Local Councils Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said 1,345 developers and more than 5,000 directors of such companies involved in problematic projects have been blacklisted.

Kong said it did not only involve housing projects that were abandoned but also involved housing projects that were not completed on schedule.

"Apart from blacklisting, many developers were also fined for not conforming to the Housing Act, including not preparing reports on schedule, especially work progress reports every six months," he told reporters after visiting the abandoned Putra Intan Condominium project here on Feb 8.

The project that was initially supposed to have been completed in 2005 was abandoned and later taken over by another developer who is expected to complete the works in eight months.

Kong said according to statistics, there were 135 abandoned housing projects in the country but some were being revived by corporate organisations.

Though the figure was not high when compared with 18,000 housing projects throughout the country, it would not be fair to house buyers.

"For every developer, starting a new housing project is a new business. So, if they understand their responsibility as a developer and follow the agreement, they must complete the projects according to the dates set," he said.

Kong added that the government also encouraged the build and sell concept to safeguard the interest of the buyers but not all developers can afford the concept.

"If we do 100% build and sell system, then the property market or developers will be more or less limited to only the very big boys, which would lead to a situation whereby they can monopolize the market and its not good for the consumer.

"We have an open economy policy where we cannot exclude new players coming into the property market," he said. -- Bernama