The authorities are not providing ample incentives, especially financial ones, to encourage property developers to build eco-friendly projects, said the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association of Malaysia (REHDA) in a report by the Sun Daily.
REHDA’s immediate former president Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar revealed that green developments in the country typically require long planning time and have higher initial cost of 15 percent to 20 percent.
These additional expenses include the procurement of eco-friendly construction materials, adoption of new technology and innovation, as well as design fees, professional fees and payment for green rating assessment.
“However in the long run, when you look at maintaining the building and property, you will have a considerable amount of savings,” said Fateh in his keynote speech during the Sustainable Housing Futures Conference at Limkokwing University, Cyberjaya on Thursday (16 August).
Eventually, the higher upfront cost is passed to property buyers, increasing unit prices. But buyers could be turned off by the higher prices and this could impact demand for such eco-friendly developments.
“If we’re serious about moving forward, incentives must be given. Then more contractors will design something more sustainable and green,” said Fateh, who is urging the government to copy Singapore, which has been providing incentives over the last five years.
“In Singapore, when multinational tenants want to rent a green building, you have to pay a 20 percent to 30 percent rental premium. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, this does not happen. Whether we build a standard building, MSC-status building or green building, the rental is the same,” explained Fateh.
Moreover, there is a limited supply of green construction materials and technology in Malaysia, so these need to be imported from other nations.
There is also a lack of legal regulations covering green construction technology.
“Tweak or re-legislate certain framework for green technology. We’ve many building codes and regulations, but none for green technology,” he added.
Image sourced from The Malaysian Times
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