Number of low-cost homes falls short

14/06/2004 The Star

Kuala Lumpur: The number of low-and medium-cost houses which were completed in Johor was far below the state's five-year target under the Seventh Malaysia Plan.

The Auditor-General's Report 2002 said the state had set a target of building  close to 280,000 units of low-and medium-cost houses ranging from RM25,000 to RM80,000, between 1996 and 2000.

However, only 16.9% of the number of 47,000 units of such houses were completed as at September 2002.

The report attributed the failure to delay in the approval of turnkey projects and groundwork  plans.

The Auditor-General's Department also found that there were at least 27,000 units under construction.

The department proposed that agencies such as the National Housing Department and Land Office to monitor construction progress to speed up the approval of turnkey projects and groundwork plans.