New public housing ready ahead of schedule
KUALA LUMPUR: Civil servants who bought housing units in the city’s first 1Malaysia Public Housing Project (PPA1M) were pleasantly surprised when they received their keys one year and five months ahead of schedule.
The Bukit Jalil PPA1M project was initially scheduled to be completed in May 2019.
But project developer Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd managed to complete it 17 months before the deadline.
During a ceremony to hand over the house keys to the new homeowners, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the project was completed early with zero cost to the Government, thanks to the cross-subsidy method.
“The developer took on the pro- ject for the Government, and to support the cost, we allowed the developer to start up a residential development on another nearby piece of land, which will be sold at the market rate,” he said.
“The ‘cross subsidy’ method was implemented on a 60:40 basis, that is, 60% with a total area of 7.67 acres (3.068ha) to be built for the PPA1M, which is controlled by the Government in terms of price, size and quality.
“While the other 40% with a total area of 5.11 acres (2.044ha) were allowed to the developers for the construction of houses at the current market price,” he said.
A total of 1,536 civil servants turned up at the Bukit Jalil PPA1M here yesterday to receive their keys and take a first look at their new homes.
The selling rate for the units was fixed between RM150,000 and RM300,000 for units ranging from 1,000sq ft to 1,434sq ft (92sq m to 133sq m).
Najib also noted that the Government aimed to build 200,000 PPA1M units nationwide for civil servants, and that the price will be capped at RM300,000.
“So far, the Government has approved 135,456 PPA1M units through 433 projects nationwide.
“Of this total, 17,191 units or 22 projects are based in Kuala Lumpur.
“I was also told that 43,993 units nationwide have already been offered to eligible civil servants,” he added.
The Bukit Jalil PPA1M is divided into two towers, each with three blocks that are 41 storeys high – one of the highest structures in affordable housing projects.
One of the key features is a 400m covered walkway that connects the PPA1M directly to the Bukit Jalil LRT station to enable smooth travelling for the residents.
Najib observed that affordable housing projects like this was not just a way for the Government to keep its promises, but to fulfil an aim to increase personal assets for the rakyat, particularly civil servants.
“Civil servants are the backbone of the Government, and this is our way of appreciating their contributions and their services, by giving them access to homes they can afford,” he said.