Only Penang voters will be allowed to buy units at a huge low- and medium-cost and affordable housing project to be built by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC).

The corporation has allocated a 60.7ha site in Batu Kawan on the mainland for the project, which will comprise high-rise units.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government was imposing this requirement to ensure that only Penangites benefited from the project.

“The units will be priced at between RM72,500 and RM220,000.

“There will be a variety of units with different built-up areas,” said Lim, who is also PDC chair-man.

He said the project site was the largest tract of land ever allocated in Penang to build such homes.

“Previously, our affordable housing projects were located in mixed-development sites,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Lim said the project would support Batu Kawan’s housing needs as it transforms into an industrial estate.

He said the state government hoped it would be implemented as soon as possible.

He said more details on the project, such as the number of units and the various built-up areas, would be released once the project plan was completed.

Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris said affordable homes should be made available to all Malaysians, not just Penang voters.

He, however, welcomed the move by the state government to allocate such a big plot of land for such homes.