Khalid says ministry has checked 102 dubious land deals
Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said his ministry has reviewed 102 out of 176 dubious projects approved by the previous administration. Some have been terminated due to them violating the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020, and some have had their building plans improvised to fulfil development regulations. The remainder are still being reviewed by a special task force. The minister said land not suitable for development has also been reacquired from the developers that were awarded the contracts previously. (Malay Mail Online)
Plenitude to launch housing projects worth GDV RM326mil
Plenitude Bhd plans to launch several housing projects with a total gross development value of RM326.70mil in Kedah, Selangor and Johor. The projects are its 98 double-storey terraced houses in Sungei Petani, Kedah; two/three storey terraced houses in Puchong and 112 units of cluster homes in Johor Bahru. Plenitude also expects contribution from the hospitality division to improve with substantive building enhancement on-going at The Nomad Bangsar Residences, Bangsar and refurbishment at Novotel KLCC. Plenitude’s property development segment remains the group’s key contributor at 71% while the hotel’s segment contributed 29%. (The Star Online)
Scientex to speed up development of affordable homes in next 10 years
Scientex Bhd is looking to accelerate its development of affordable housing units, and plans to build 32,500 units over the next 10 years to meet its 50,000 homes target by 2028. The group’s executive director Alex Khaw said the target is achievable, and that its property division plans to build an average of 3,300 units a year. These units will be priced below RM500,000, with units priced below RM300,000 making up the bulk of the total. The group has also invested in industrialised building system (IBS), which translated to an overall construction cost savings of 10% to 15% per project, Khaw said. To date, Scientex has completed 17,500 units of affordable housing with 99% occupancy rate, said managing director Lim Peng Jin. (The Edge Markets)
Property developers, Rehda donate to Tabung Harapan Malaysia
Hunza Properties Bhd, Ideal Property and the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) have donated RM455,172.50 to Tabung Harapan Malaysia (THM). The contribution was presented to Penang Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow, at his office in Komtar. State housing, town, country planning and local government committee chairman, Jagdeep Singh Deo, said the contribution is made up of the relinquished property buyers’s approval fee, and done in order to help stimulate the property sector. He said, “The state government agreed to this request from Rehda by way of the Malaysian Property Expo (Mapex) 2018. The waiver was from July 22 to Aug 22.” (The Sun Daily)
FT Ministry, DBKL mull covered walkways at public housing
The Federal Territories Ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) are considering covered walkways at low-cost flats (PPR) to ensure the safety of residents. Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said it might be one possible solution to avoid more incidents of falling objects from upper floors hitting passers-by below, citing the most recent case where a 19-year-old was struck by a falling bicycle wheel and received 15 stitches on his head. Earlier this year, a 15-year-old was killed at Pantai Dalam PPR after someone threw a chair from the upper floors. Mayor Nur Hisham Ahmad Dahlan said DBKL will hold special briefings with flat dwellers on the dangers of high-rise littering. (Malay Mail Online)
