Bayan Baru residents can now look forward to bigger homes as five blocks of five-storey flats within their area would be the first to be rejuvenated under the Urban Regeneration Project on the Penang island, reported The Star.
All five blocks would be demolished and rebuilt over a two- to three-year period. Works on the pilot project is slated to start next year.
“We are looking at better facilities as these blocks have units which are only 250 to 300 sq ft,” said state Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo.
While they may not be a high rise, the new blocks would feature a 700 sq ft unit, which is equivalent to the current low medium-cost or low-cost flats that comes with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, he said.
“We are looking at a one-to-one basis, where each unit owner would get an upgraded unit without any additional cost or maintenance,” added Jagdeep.
He noted that although the urban regeneration project was first targeted at Taman Free School Flats and Rifle Range Flats, no survey was made in Bayan Baru.
“More than 90 percent of the residents in Taman Mahsuri have agreed to the project, thus we are moving ahead. The population is smaller compared to Rifle Range with 3,000 residents and Taman Free School with 1,000 people.”
Jagdeep explained that urban regeneration is a better way to providing quality housing as the state government is concerned of the increasing cost of maintaining old flats.
“Another issue is safety. We spent RM2 million to stabilise and reinforce the structure of the two blocks in Rifle Range recently and we would not be able to sustain such costs in the future.”
Image source: The Star
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