RM392m spent to revive projects

09/09/2008 New Straits Times

The new homes in Taman Sri Gedung, Sungei Petani.

SUNGAI PETANI: Since it was set up in 1997, Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) has spent RM392 million to rebuild 20,000 houses in abandoned projects nationwide.

SPNB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Inc, set up to provide an affordable, quality home for every family in line with the government's housing policy.

SPNB managing director Datuk Mohd Amin Mohd Salleh said this did not include the RM88 million being spent on 1,469 houses now under construction.

"To date, SPNB has completed 73 abandoned housing projects involving 23,018 houses.

"Of these, 9,773 houses in 19 projects were built with loans from the Federal Government, while the remaining 13,245 houses in 54 projects were financed by SPNB," said Mohd Amin, adding that SPNB's target is to build 150,000 houses by the end of 2010.

At the same time, the company will be building 33,000 homes throughout the country under the Rumah Mampu Milik (RMM) scheme.

He was speaking after handing out keys to buyers of homes in Taman Sri Gedung on Saturday.

Taman Sri Gedung was launched in 1987 and abandoned a year later. It was taken over by SPNB in 2003 and completed in June.

There are three other abandoned housing projects in Kedah -- Taman Permai Utama in Gurun, Taman Junjung Jaya and Taman Perindustrian Hi-tech in Kulim.

SPNB is planning to build houses under the RMM scheme in Pendang, Kulim, Changlun and Sungai Petani.