No change in price of Johor low-cost houses

13/08/2001 The Star  By Norman Ong

JOHOR BARU: Johor will keep the price of three-room low-cost houses at RM25,000 even though the Federal Government has proposed that they be sold at RM35,000.

Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the state would build houses priced at RM50,000 for those who could afford them.

He said those who continue to squat on state land instead of moving into low-cost houses were hampering efforts to eradicate squatters by 2005.

He said there were still about 4,300 squatter households in the city and efforts were being made to resettle them.

He said squatters should be understanding and support projects initiated by the state which would benefit them.

"We have build over 80,000 low cost homes for the lower income group. Yet there are some who prefer to live in squatter areas because of the convenience of going to work.

"If we are prepared to travel a bit to our workplaces we can find a ready supply of low-cost houses in Johor Baru," he said at the launching of the Desa Larkin integrated housing project yesterday.

The RM400mill project, comprising over 3,800 units of low, medium and luxury apartments and shopping complexes, was undertaken by state-own Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor and Kumpulan Emas Berhad.