11/01/2009 Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- The Housing and Local Government Ministry will set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to rehabilitate abandoned housing projects in the country, said its minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan.

He said: "The SPV will identify abandoned projects and choose an active housing developer to take over these projects."

The SPV would also create a special rehabilitation fund and provide expertise in the legal, technical, financial, and administrative fields as well as land management, he told reporters here, Sunday.

Earlier, he handed over house keys to the owners of 37 bungalows in phase four of the Taman Jalil Sutera, Bandar Bukit Jalil here.

Construction work on the bungalows were delayed due to technical problems and efforts to speed up rehabilitation works on the project were carried out by Syarikat Ho Hup Construction Sdn Bhd and Bukit Jalil Development Sdn Bhd.

Ong said the SPV, which would be placed under the National Housing Corporation and regulated by his ministry, would ensure that all abandoned housing projects could be completed and handed over to the buyers within the agreement period.

The minister expressed confidence that the housing industry would continue to grow this year despite the world economic recession.

He said that between 1990 and last year, a total of 2.780 million housing units had been built with 2.396 million units being completed and handed over to the buyers.

-- BERNAMA