Residents of Taman Danau Desa in Kuala Lumpur have welcomed plans to build an international school at the site of a former school which was abandoned for 15 years.
Situated at Jalan 1/109F in Taman Danau Desa in Jalan Kelang Lama, SK Danau Perdana was built in 2003 at the cost of RM14.5 million. A year after its opening, the school was ordered to be closed after part of the building’s wall collapsed.
The soil structure was also deemed weak resulting in cracks appearing all over the school building.
With the school left abandoned, the site turned into a hangout of drug addicts and vagrants.
All the recyclable materials within the premises, including drain covers, were stolen as soon as the building was abandoned.
And while reports of open burning and fire have been lodged, the authorities felt no urgency in resolving the matter.
Fortunately, residents can now look forward to better days as property developer Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd is now in the process of acquiring the land from the Education Ministry, with plans to build an international school.
“We are still talking with the ministry and the land office to build a new school at the site,” said Michael Chai, Executive Director at Aset Kayamas.
“We are looking at building an international school. But the current building must go, it is not fit for reuse.”
While he did not elaborate on the project, Chai revealed that the school would cater to medium-income group and will be open to children ages six to 17 years old.
“It’s our first school project, to be honest. When we wanted to give back something to society, the idea of an educational institution came to mind.”
Although negotiation is still pending over issues of compensation and legality, Chai revealed that the company hopes to start work on the site in Q2 2018.
In welcoming the news, long-time resident M. Parames said: “Every day for the past 12 years since I moved in here, I wondered when the school will be demolished.”
“It has been an ugly sight for so long. I have seen drug addicts hanging out there, carrying out open burning and polluting the environment. It’s good to find out that the site will be rehabilitated and restored as a proper school,” she added.
Image sourced from Free Malaysia Today
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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