By Farah Wahida:
In an effort to provide more houses for the poor and middle-income families, the state government of Selangor plans to build 10,000 affordable units in the next five years, reported The Sun Daily.
According to Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the government is currently working with property players to build housing projects, in which buyers get value for their money, while developers don’t have to spend too much.
“We need to rethink the concept of development, especially in urban sites, so that residents in these housing units can stay for a long period in comfort,” he said after officiating a groundbreaking ceremony at Sutera Damansara, Sungai Buloh yesterday.
He also pointed out that Petaling Jaya is an attractive city to live in thanks to its strategic location. However, it is overpopulated, and houses for poor and middle income families are poorly constructed.
“When people think of affordable housing, they will think of low-cost flats with cramped spaces and poor facilities,” he said.
“We want to change that perception by redeveloping certain low-cost flats in Petaling Jaya into affordable housing units if there is demand for them.”
These houses will be jointly developed by Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) with Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad, said Selangor Exco Member Iskandar Abdul Samad.
“The state government spends some RM13 million to maintain current housing units, so the new units will only be for buyers who are seriously interested.”
Meanwhile, the government will hold a seminar later this month wherein experts from Japan and the UK will discuss new building technologies.
“We need to look at smarter building innovations that do not require developers to compromise on construction materials or shrink house sizes,” he added.
Farah Wahida, Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email farahwahida@propertyguru.com.my
Related Stories:
Build affordable homes for gov’t employees: CUEPACS
Forward PPR maintenance issues to DBKL, says Mayor
Residents properly compensated, says PKNS