The affordable housing projects, Mutiara Ria and Mutiara Rini, which were under construction but later demolished due to non-compliant building materials, are now set to be reconstructed with a new plan in place. JKP Jelutong Development Sdn. Bhd., a joint venture between JKP Sdn. Bhd. and GSD Land Sdn. Bhd., will undertake the construction of the new affordable homes. The project is scheduled to commence early next year at the original site located adjacent to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

During a press conference held yesterday, Jagdeep Singh Deo, the chairman of the Penang State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee, announced the plan to construct two skyscrapers of 38 and 54-storeys. These buildings will house a total of 1,245 affordable housing units, each boasting a built-up size of 950 sq.ft. The units will be priced at RM300,000 and are expected to be completed within a timeframe of 5 years. He added that an additional 192 units of low-cost and low-medium-cost housing will be constructed in Balik Pulau.

The facilities of the new affordable housing plan will include multi-storey car parks, swimming pools, children’s wading pools and playgrounds, saunas, fitness rooms, community halls, prayer rooms and leisure areas, etc.

The previous buyers have either received compensation or been offered reallocation to units in alternative affordable housing projects. Additionally, some of the buyers will be granted priority to purchase the newly constructed units.

Jagdeep emphasized that the Penang state government will intensify its supervision to ensure the structural safety of the high-rise buildings included in the plan.

The initial development plans for Mutiara Ria and Mutiara Rini, located next to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, were initiated in December 2015. The original design comprised a 17-storey low-cost and medium-cost apartment with 384 units for Mutiara Ria, and a 24-storey affordable housing scheme consisting of 382 units for Mutiara Rini.

However, once the construction of the two high-rise buildings commenced, reaching the 2nd and 15th floors respectively, they were deemed dangerous structures in 2017. As a result, the demolition process began in 2020.

Asia Green Group’s affordable homes project, called The Zen, is progressing well and is expected to be ready by early next year, caretaker state Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said.

Jagdeep and several staff members from the Penang Housing Board, as well as architects and representatives from Asia Green, today visited the construction site at Persiaran Bayan Mutiara in Gelugor to monitor the progress of the project.

“This project is now 90 per cent completed, and it is expected to obtain its Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) early next year.

“In Penang, standards will never be compromised, especially when it involves the well-being of the people.

“We hope Penang can become a model where housing is concerned, and one good example of leading the way would be materialising such affordable homes for the people,” Jagdeep told a press conference earlier.

As this is a mixed development project, there are also condominium units as well. But, as for the affordable ones, which measure 850sq ft per unit, it is learnt that all 1,200 units have been sold out.

Relatively, Jagdeep also said 152,263 units of affordable homes are currently in different phases of close to completion or have been completed.

According to him, this also means that the state government has achieved 69.2% of its target of delivering 220,00 units of affordable homes by 2030.

Future owners of The Zen can enjoy facilities such as a swimming pool, recreational space and others.

Among those present during the visit were Penang Housing Board chief business officer Fakhurrazi Ibnu Omar and Asia Green’s director Tan Li Mei.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

GUH Development Sdn. Bhd. will build a block of 20-storey flats consisting of 208 units of Affordable Housing (RMM) Type A or Low Cost (LC for RM42,000 each on a 2.3-acre open land next to Jamek Al-Ihsaniah Mosque in Simpang Ampat.

During the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday, caretaker Chief Minister, Y.A.B. Tuan Chow Kon Yeow said that his administration hopes that the approval process for the start of groundwork for the ‘home for home’ project can be speeded up at the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) level.

“The work is expected to take about three years to complete. We hope for a smooth progress and an early completion of the project, as the local residents have been waiting for a long time.”, said Chow.

It is understood that a total of 140 families have signed an agreement with the developer to accept a unit with an area of 900 square feet as compensation, and another 22 “extended family” will be able to purchase a unit with an area of 750 square feet for RM42,000.

Former Bukit Tambun assemblyman Goh Choon Aik said the villagers had signed an agreement with the developer in 2018, and now, finally, the project work has started after a long struggle spanning 20 years.

He explained that the villagers signed a contract with the former developer between 1996 and 1997, which later changed hands in 2014, and were deterred by the fact that they had not been able to fulfill their commitments after signing the contract.

He continued that since becoming the state legislator of Bukit Tambun in 2018, he has been working to resolve the issues, including discussions with the current developer and villagers, and finally convinced 140 local families to sign the agreement.

“A total of 140 families have agreed to the ‘home for home’ arrangement. The developer cannot initiate any demolition actions until the new houses are built. As for the approximately 30-odd villagers who did not sign the plan, they have been duly compensated.”

About Lucerne Residences

The final phase of residential development by Ideal Property Group at Ideal Vision Park in Bayan Lepas. It is just a short drive to Penang International Airport, 10 minutes walking distance to Straits International School. The project will see two blocks of 36-storey skyscrapers featuring a European living concept. It offers 480 residential units with a 5-storey parking podium.

*Photo taken June 2023

Find out more about Lucerne Residences

Borrowers may have gotten a reprieve from Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to keep the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3 per cent, but the possibility of another rate hike this year is making some borrowers with more than one property, think of selling.

“I had to start paying an extra RM90 per month for a loan I took out with a local bank for the amount of RM800,000 after Bank Negara hiked the OPR in May 2022. I am now paying a little over RM400 monthly because of the fourth OPR increase, which is a strain for me.

“My husband and I have a total of three housing loans. So you can probably guess how much extra we have to pay each month as a result of the OPR increase,” said Jenny Goh, a senior consultant at a large corporation. Goh expressed her hope that the May 2023 rate increase would be the last one and said that she would not hesitate to sell one or two of her properties if Bank Negara did decide to increase the rate before the end of this year.

So far, the central bank has raised the OPR by 125 basis points (bps) since May 2022, bringing the rate to 3 per cent. The hikes, each time by 25 bps, happened in May, July, September, and November 2023, and in May this year.

At three per cent, the benchmark interest rate is already at the pre-pandemic level.

Bank Negara reduced the OPR to a record-low 1.75 per cent in July 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting, to support the economy by boosting spending and making borrowing cheaper.

Changes in OPR result in banks charging higher interest on borrowers’ loans.

SM Angel, a researcher based in Kuala Lumpur, said that Bank Negara’s decision to hike interest rates in May of this year was untimely as it had increased the burden on borrowers to pay back their debts.

“Any additional increases in OPR will undoubtedly make it harder for borrowers to repay their loans. Borrowers would be under much more stress as a result, particularly if the cost of living keeps rising.

“My housing loan payment has increased by RM650 a month after the first rate hike in May. Consequently, I must reduce my own spending,” she told the New Straits Times.

She advised banks to consider offering restructuring and rescheduling options for their bad loans in order to reduce default rates.

Lavanya Venkateswaran, OCBC Bank’s senior Asean economist, foresees Bank Negara holding the OPR unchanged for the rest of the year.

“We believe that Bank Negara is now more sanguine about the growth and inflation outlooks but has stopped short of sounding less hawkish.

“This is justified, in our view, not just by external factors, including the continued hawkish drumbeat of global central banks, but also by domestic factors, including sticky core inflation pressures and the inflationary impact of potential changes to the government’s subsidy policies,” she said.

MIDF Research said in a note that Bank Negara is likely to raise the OPR to 3.25 per cent by year-end, following the “stronger-than-expected domestic economy”.

Source: NST Online