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Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) Bhd and Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (Prasarana) today announced a strategic partnership to build a total of 4,000 affordable housing units at six light rail transit (LRT) locations.
The first phase of 2,000 units will be built near Pandan Jaya, Pandan Indah and Taman Cempaka LRT stations whereas discussions are still ongoing for the remaining 2,000 units set to be in mixed developments near Jelatek, Glenmarie (Subang) and Putra Heights LRT stations.
“The homes would be built on top of the LRT (stations) or beside it, depending on the location,” said PR1MA chief executive officer Abdul Mutalib Alias. “The three specified locations (Pandan Jaya, Pandan Indah and Taman Cempaka) amounts to 17.6 acres of land accumulatively.”
The first phase is expected to be launched in either the 3Q or 4Q this year with expected completion in three years. While prices are yet to be announced, Abdul Mutalib stressed PR1MA’s commitment in ensuring that they are 20 per cent cheaper than the prevailing market price for similar units in the development areas given that PR1MA homes are priced between RM100,000 and RM400,000.
“Pandan Jaya, Pandan Indah and Taman Cempaka has a high concentration of middle income earners and our development is targeted more at young individuals and families looking to own their first home,” said Abdul Mutalib. “Our apartment units will be sized between 750 sq ft for 1+1 bedroom studio-plus units and 1,200 sqft for 3+1 bedroom units.”
Prasarana’s group managing director, Shahril Mokhtar said Prasarana was honored to work with PRIMA to develop affordable houses that provide excellent public transport connectivity to the rakyat. Both Shahril and Abdul Mutalib believe that such transit-oriented developments are the first of its kind in Malaysia.
However, details on the gross development value and other matters are not yet available and will be announced in the future, said Abdul Mutalib. Prasarana’s role apart from providing the land is also being fine-tuned but Shahril stated that PR1MA has various ways to look at the joint venture and that at the end of the day the priority is to meet all objectives.
When asked on the safety of the development with regards to potential noise pollution and density concerns, Abdul Mutalib said that the technology needed to counter these concerns are not new “as far as technology goes” and points to places like Hong Kong where they are no longer issues thanks to technology. He added that the density targeted for PR1MA’s developments are still normal compared to other places like Hong Kong which has much higher densities.
Going further into technicalities, Shahril pointed out that noise pollution can be mitigated by putting up sound barriers near the LRT stations to reduce the noise down to acceptable decibel levels as well as implementing ‘slow zones’ in certain areas.
When asked about Prasarana’s targeted profit margin from these developments, Shahril waved the notion away, suggesting that they are not seeking to make profit from the affordable housing aspect. “We have a few parcels of land, so (we will) see where the parcel areas are whereby we can have PR1MA housing (only), where we have mixed (use) and where we may not have at all. It depends on the location and the geographical area.”
Abdul Mutalib Alias
When pressed further whether that means the target is just to break even for certain areas, Abdul Mutalib said: “(For) the program under PR1MA, yes. But (for) the programs that are mixed where it is commercial, of course we will apply the normal (considerations).”
However, Shahril declined to reveal the targeted profit margins for such programs at the moment.
Speaking to KiniBiz after the press conference, Abdul Mutalib agreed with a statement by REHDA president Datuk Seri Michael Yam (reported in New Straits Times, 5 October 2012) that “the affordable housing issue should be apolitical and bipartisan”.
“Our principle has always been apolitical and bipartisan. There’s no bumi quota, no bumi discount (in the program). If you are eligible, everyone has a fair chance in the balloting,” said Abdul Mutalib. “All we want is for people to register (so that they can participate). One price for all.”
Also speaking to KiniBiz after the press conference, Ar Aminuddin Abdul Manaf, Chief Operating Officer of PR1MA reiterated that PR1MA is a wealth-creation program for the people. “We want to ensure that the people who enter the PR1MA program can also enjoy the upside of the moratorium. If you do it in a mixed area (of PR1MA and non-PR1MA homes), then the value will not go down.”
Application for PR1MA Homes are open to Malaysians citizen aged 21 years who have an individual or combined gross household income of between RM2,500 and RM7,500 a month through the PR1MA registration system.
PR1MA is a government programme to promote greater home ownership, especially among the middle-income earners, by providing more affordable residential properties in the country’s major cities.
Prasarana is a wholly-owned Government company which is entrusted to transform the country’s public transport system.
When asked about previously reported plans of Prasarana to raise its fares, Shahril said he is looking at the next few months for an announcement on the matter. Reiterating that the fare has not been reviewed for the past ten years for rail in particular, he states that Prasarana has been working closely with the Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) for the fares to be reviewed.
”Costs have increased – we have actually invested billions of ringgit, the electricity tariff has been increasing for the past ten years, manpower has gone up by at least five percent every year,” elaborated Shahril. “So at least to cover our costs we are working very closely with the govt for the fares to be reviewed.”
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