RM3,400 for each KL house in lieu of low/medium-cost houses

28/10/2003 The Edge By Ng Kar Yean

Property developers are required to contribute RM3,400 for every house they build in Kuala Lumpur to Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) if they do not want to build low- and medium-cost houses, a property developer says.

However, the government has yet to decide on the quantum to be paid for projects outside Kuala Lumpur. SPNB will use the funds collected to build these affordable houses.

Sunrise Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Michael Yam said developers would have to contribute if they choose not to build the affordable houses themselves and leave it to SPNB.

Speaking to reporters after the group's AGM and EGM on Oct 28, he said the government had informed property developers undertaking projects in Kuala Lumpur on the amount they had to contribute for this purpose.

He said the government had also not made a decision on when the developers would have to pay their contribution.

"If developers have to make upfront payment (at the start of a project), it will burden us financially," he added.

In Budget 2004, it was announced that SPNB would build 12,000 affordable residential units on a 400ha land owned by Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia in Sungai Buloh.

In the past, developers were required to allocate 30 per cent of their projects for low- and medium-cost houses. Now they have the choice of letting SPNB undertake the construction, on condition that they make a contribution.