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No entry: luxury homes ahead
04/12/2008 NST Noel Achariam
Country Heights residents protesting over the long wait for their promised
access road.
KUALA LUMPUR: The developer promised them an access road to their gated
community in 2001, but nothing has materialised after a seven-year wait.
Residents of the luxurious Country Heights near Kajang were told earlier
this month by the developer that it lacked the funds to build the road.
It is estimated that the access road, which is to run from the LDP Penchala
Link to Country Heights, will cost RM8 million to build.
They now have no choice but to continue using the trunk road through Sungai
Penchala village to get to their homes.
Frustrated and angry, the residents of Country Heights staged a peaceful
protest at the weekend.
Pro-tem committee member Y.Y. Thean, 42, said the residents have waited too
long for "this very basic infrastructure."
"The residents here have to use the trunk road at Sungai Penchala. Even
worse, the area is flood prone, narrow and generally unsafe," he said.
Thean said there had been several accidents at the trunk road in the past.
"Motorists can't see the road ahead as the road is narrow and dangerous to
users," he said.
House owner Gordev Singh, 41, is contemplating selling his home.
"How can they not provde something as basic as an entrance for the
residents?" he said, adding that the residents were also promised a
community clubhouse.
"Empty promises are all that we have got," he said.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who visited the area after receiving complaints
from residents, said he would be meeting with the developer soon.
"City Hall had approved plans for the road and I don't see why there should
be a delay. I will meet with the developer and discuss the status of the
road," he said.
Country Heights Holdings Berhad chief executive officer Datuk C.S Ong said
the access road should be completed by October 2009.
"I know that the residents are frustrated and I understand why," he said.
The access road was approved by the consessionaire Litrak in June, but the
developer's contractor, Jung Setia Sdn Bhd, had run into some technical
problems.
"We need to build a drainage system and we ran into difficulties. The
boulders beneath the surface are causing the delay. I have my contractors
working on the road and we hope to resolve the problem soon.
"I'm equally frustrated and I hope that the residents can be patient. I have
properties worth RM300 million that need development. I want the access road
as badly as them," said Ong. |
