Desticom gets deal to revive housing projects
02/07/2002 Malay Mail

LITTLE-known Desticom Sdn Bhd has been assigned to revive housing projects abandoned by developers during the economic slowdown of 1997, government sources said yesterday.

The company has so far secured an initial RM200 million contract to complete the projects, and more contracts are expected. The company is now expected to revive projects comprising low-cost and low-medium houses as well as shophouses, the source told Mail Money yesterday.

The Government had in April 2002 directed Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) to work on reviving some 70 of 514 abandoned housing projects.

Since then, contracts were awarded to several parties with the bulk going to Desticom.

Other companies that are actively involved in reviving abandoned projects include Domain Resources Sdn Bhd and Wolley Development Sdn Bhd.

SPNB is wholly-owned by the Finance Ministry. The company was given an initial allocation of RM1 billion for the purpose of reviving stalled projects.

While SPNB is believed to have received an initial RM300 million to start some of the projects which will be revived in stages, the MOF firm has put in a request for additional allocation.

The MOF is believed to have approved the request in principle but will only disburse the funds when the need arises.

During the economic slowdown in 1997, most developers had completed between 20 and 65 per cent of their housing units when they encountered financial difficulties.