Ka Ting: 324 abandoned housing projects revived

The Star 11/04/2001

A TOTAL of 324 housing projects which were abandoned since the mid-1980s have been revived by the Government.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the projects involved the construction of some 59,616 houses and 43,448 buyers.

"At the same time, 19 projects have been taken over by other developers and we have targeted another 56 which have the potential to be revived.

"We are currently carrying out feasibility studies on these projects, which involve some 21,182 houses and 13,325 buyers, with the co-operation of Syarikat Perumahan Negara,'' he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

However, the ministry, he added, had also identified 115 projects which could no longer be revived due to flagging interest from consumers or where the developers had wound up operations.

"Sometimes, there were not enough buyers for the project or piling work had not started yet. Legal tussles have also caused some work to come to a standstill.

"The developers could also have absconded. These are criminal cases,'' said Ong.

To prevent the recurrence of such cases, he said the ministry had taken steps to tighten licensing procedures for developers by requiring them to submit progress reports every six months, perusing their audited accounts and amending the Housing Developers Act.

 "Hopefully, the amendment can be tabled in next Parliament meeting,'' Ong  said.