Insurance For Housing Project Developers

03/09/2004  Bernama.com

PETALING JAYA, Sept 3 (Bernama) - Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia (REHDA) will be proposing to the government that insurance companies provide insurance schemes to developers to cover abandoned projects, said its president Datuk Jeffrey Ng Tiong Lip.

"This proposal will be an alternative solution to solve the problem," said Ng at a press conference on issues affecting housing industry here Friday.

Ng said when projects were abandoned, there should be immediate plans to ensure that house buyers were protected via insurance.

In such case, the insurance company can appoint some other developers to complete the abandoned projects or if the abandoned projects are still in the earlier stage of development, house buyers should get a refund on whatever costs that they have incurred, Ng said.

He said that this new proposal of insurance participation would serve to provide adequate protection to the house buyers.

Ng said REHDA would hold talks with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing Development and Local Government and insurance companies on this issue in the near future.

Ng said REHDA supported the government's effort to protect the industry from errant developers who abandoned projects in the past and would urge the Ministry of Housing Development and Local Government to publish the list of blacklisted developers.

He said REHDA was willing to offer its nationwide branch network to assist the ministry in monitoring projects that were on the verge of being abandoned.

-- BERNAMA