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KUALA LUMPUR: PR1MA Corp Malaysia, the agency that has been given the mandate to build affordable homes in urban areas, will roll out 15 affordable housing projects with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM5 billion.
The projects, which are expected to offer a total of 20,000 homes, are located in the Klang Valley, Johor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak
“These 15 new developments are under phase one of the PR1MA programme. I am confident that by year-end, we will have more on board to meet the 80,000 PR1MA homes as announced in Budget 2013,” said PR1MA CEO Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias.
The 80,000 units are part of the 500,000 affordable homes to be rolled out by PR1MA by 2018.
“The identified projects are in various phases of development. Some have already received the necessary approvals from the local councils and authorities, and as such will be launched within the next few months” said Abdul Mutalib.
The sites in Kuala Lumpur are Setapak and Jalan Jubilee and Bayan Lepas in Penang.
He noted that work on three projects had started, including projects in Alam Damai and Pasir Gudang, Johor.
Of the 15 to be rolled out, PR1MA would undertake three projects in Bukit Jalil, Brickfields and in Gelugor, Penang.
He added that the company would engage with private developers for the remaining 12 projects.
Even though PR1MA would engage with private developers on some projects, Abdul Mutalib assured that all these developments would come under PR1MA Act 2012.
He said although the company had earmarked numerous projects in most urban centres, “we will only select projects that meet our development guidelines to be part of the PR1MA programme”.
Buyers should be able to take ownership of their PR1MA homes within 24 months for landed property and 36 months for high-rise buildings from the date of signing of the sale and purchase agreement, said Abdul Mutalib.
“The building timeframe for PR1MA homes is similar to industry standards.”
Abdul Mutalib said none of the units launched so far is more than RM400,000.
“We have units that are below RM300,000 and as low as RM150,000 for landed properties,” he said.
“PR1MA’s objective has always been to reduce the country’s affordability gap by developing affordable homes which are at least 20% lower than the market price of surrounding development,” said Abdul Mutalib.
He pointed out that buyers should not re-sell the properties after purchasing them under PR1MA given that they are already subsidised by the government.
On a question of private developers undertaking affordable housing Abdul Mutalib said demand was high and other developers should jump into the bandwagon.
“At the end of the day, the public will benefit from that,” he said.
Among private developers, Sime Darby Bhd has taken the initiative to build 321 homes in Bandar Bukit Raja at below RM400,000 in its effort to provide affordable homes.
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on August 29, 2013.
