The Penang Development Corporation (PDC) conducted a virtual ceremony for the first time on the handover of keys to five house buyers of Jiran Residensi affordable project today.

PDC chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Bazid Abd Kahar presented the keys to the invited five buyers in the symbolic ceremony held at the PDC office in Bayan Baru.

It was witnessed online by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who is also the PDC chairman, state Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh, Bagan Dalam assemblyman Satees Muniandy and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) mayor Datuk Rozali Mahmud among others at their respective workplaces.

Chow commended PDC for holding the event despite being bound strictly by the SOPs during the current movement control order.

“The state government believes that by handing over the keys to the unit owners today, it is evident that the Penang state government is committed to its resolution to provide affordable housing for eligible Penangites.

“I would like to thank PDC for their contributions and hard work in carrying out the state government’s mandate to jointly plan and implement residential projects that are able to maintain a harmonious, safe and secure life for all Penang residents,” Chow said in his speech.

Jiran Residensi

He added that the Jiran Residensi project, which is strategically located in Kampung Jawa, Butterworth, is the third affordable housing scheme successfully built and completed by the state government and PDC.

The earlier two projects were Suria 1 in Bandar Cassia in Batu Kawan and Dua Residensi in Teluk Kumbar which were completed in May 2018 and September 2020 respectively.

With an area of 8.84 acres, construction work on Jiran Residensi project commenced on Nov 17, 2014 and obtained its Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) on Jan 26, 2021.

Chow said the total development cost was RM126 million and was funded through the Affordable Housing Fund established by the state government of RM500 million.

Jiran Residensi project comprises two towers. Tower A is a medium-cost apartment costing between RM250,000 and RM275,000 and has 35 floors with 354 units while Tower B is a low medium-cost apartment costing RM72,500 and has 25 floors with 353 units – making it a total of 707 units.

Find out more about Jiran Residensi

The project is equipped with facilities, such as five floors of parking, multipurpose hall, surau and kindergarten.

Thus far, PDC has completed 1,921 units of affordable homes. Another 535 units are still under construction and 14,896 units are in the planning stages.

Among the projects are in the development stage are Cecil Residensi project in George Town which is 27.5% under construction and has 348 units and Mak Mandin Residensi project which is at five percent construction stage.

Jagdeep said the event today was historic as it was the first time held online in Penang and probably in Malaysia.

“The state will not compromise on public and health security. We cannot let the Covid-19 pandemic stop us from carrying out our programmes and we overcome that with technology.

“Most important thing is to provide a roof over the heads for those who need it. We want to ensure adequate affordable homes are available even during this pandemic,” Jagdeep said in his speech.

He said the Jiran Residensi housing scheme is part of the state’s vision to provide 220,000 affordable housing units by 2030.

Since 2008, a total of 38,000 units have been completed, 19,000 are in the process of being built and 57,000 approved to be built. This leads to total of 114,000 units.

For those who are unable to purchase low-cost units, Jagdeep said the government has 2,474 units for rent-to-own.

He said the state’s target is to provide 22,000 of rent-to-own units by 2030.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

Wellspring Residences, a high-rise residential development by Airmas Group at Butterworth. Located near Jalan Telaga Air, next to Telaga Emas Apartment by the same company. It is about 500 meters away from the ever-bustling Jalan Raja Uda, and only a 5 minutes drive to Penang Sentral. Surrounding amenities within walking distance include Billion Supermarket, SRJK(C) Chung Hwa 1, and several popular eateries.

This development comprises a 21-storey condominium, featuring 144 residential units with built-up sizes ranging from 1,070 sq.ft. – 1,260 sq.ft.

Property Project : Wellspring Residences
Location : Butterworth
Property Type : Condominium
Tenure: Freehold
Built-up Size: 1,070 sq.ft. – 1,260 sq.ft.
Total Units : 144
Indicative Price : RM465,000 onwards
Developer : Airmas Development Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

SITE PROGRESS

SITE PROGRESS: Wellspring Residences (July 2024)

SITE PROGRESS: Wellspring Residences (Feb 2023)

SITE PROGRESS: Wellspring Residences (Oct 2022)

SITE PROGRESS: Wellspring Residences (Jun 2022)

SITE PROGRESS: Wellspring Residences (Oct 2021)

The Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) is currently drafting a post Covid-19 economic development plan, emphasising the importance of digital development and circular economy.

Its mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud said the plan would concentrate on solving the current local issues.

“It includes effort to improve the people’s quality of life, implement a smart waste management system, flood mitigation, traffic dispersion, payment gateway and to ensure an efficient counter service and safety.

” I really hope all the Seberang Perai residents can actively involve themselves in the circular economy.

“Besides that, they must continue the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic by following the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

“I am keeping my fingers crossed that the people can be vaccinated by this month to hopefully break the chain of infection,” he told Buletin Mutiara in an interview recently.

On the challenges facing the MBSP frontliners when they carry out their duties, Rozali pointed out that physical distancing is of paramount importance.

“The public must play their roles to adhere to the SOPs while they need to understand the sacrifices by frontliners to ensure public health and safety.

“At the same time, I would like express my gratitude to all MBSP frontliners for carrying their tasks diligently.

“For example, they prioritise their jobs by ensuring cleanliness in the residents’ neighbourhood,” he said.

Touching on MBSP’s effort to reduce the people’s burden during the pandemic, Rozali said the council has implemented five strategies and 19 initiatives to control the pandemic outbreak.

The strategies are issue management and action plans; implementation of action plans and compliance monitoring; information delivery and people’s interaction; economic stimulus programme and MBSP frontliners’ welfare programme.

Besides that, the current 19 initiatives are being implemented smoothly.

On the installation of closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) on mainland, Rozali said a total of 198 cameras have been installed.

“Out of the 198 cameras, 25 are equipped with various functions, which include plate recognition, facial recognition and vehicle counting.

“We are also planning to develop the city’s dashboard to reduce traffic congestion,” said Rozali.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic and a partial lockdown reintroduced from Jan 13, the outlook of the property sector will remain largely stable for the first half of 2021, according to Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd senior partner Michael Geh.

Geh believes that the ‘transactional activities’ in the first half of this year would remain ‘brisk’.

To strengthen his view, he elaborated on a few reasons.

“The ‘brisk’ transactional activities in both primary and secondary markets are due to several factors. They include the high-cost savings in exempted payments during the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), financial institutions’ strong support for the housing loans, especially for first-time home buyers, and low interest rates for mortgages and fixed deposits.

“Besides that, Penang’s overall property transactions have seen a V-curve rebound from 2,102 transactions worth RM1.54 billion in Q2 of 2020 to 4,685 transactions worth RM2.16 billion in Q3 of 2020.

“The rebound was very high, which clearly reflected the confidence of Penangites in the property market.

“The number of transactions has increased to pre Covid-19 level and the overall property transactions are even higher compared to each quarter of 2018 and 2019.

“The achievement was made possible, thanks to various housing policies being implemented such as HOC, waiver of real property gains tax (RPGT) and other measures, ” Geh, who is also the Chartered Valuation Surveyor, told Buletin Mutiara.

The immediate past president of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) also noted that many property owners took the opportunity to transfer their properties to their children or relatives.

Apart from that, Geh said the residential properties in Penang rebounded to almost the same transactions in the last quarter of 2019 by recording 3,446 transactions worth RM1.3 billion in Q3, which was more than double that of 1,545 transactions worth RM620 million in Q2.

The number of commercial properties transacted in Q3 has also increased but the value has dropped.

A total of 223 units worth RM480 million were transacted in Q2 while a total 379 units were transacted in Q3 but it was only valued at RM300 million.

Geh also commended the Penang government for providing ample affordable housing units to Penangites.

On the Penang House Price Index reaching a plateau since 2013, Geh attributed it to the state’s push for affordability units.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

About The Stone

An affordable housing development by PLB Land in Paya Terubong, Penang. It is located immediately opposite Majestic Heights, only 1km away from EcoTerrace condominium by EcoWorld. Featuring 1,000 units of affordable houses.

(Photo source: Facebook)

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