The Penang government has yet to approve six low and medium cost housing projects of the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) since 2007.

NONE Perda chairperson Azhar Ibrahim ( left ) claims the state government leadership under Lim Guan Eng was seen as deliberately delaying approval to build more than 2,000 units of houses in the six projects.

He said to date, the six housing projects consisted two projects in Ara Kuda and one each in Sungai Batu, Pongsu Seribu, Bandar Perda as well as Teluk Bahang.

"There were projects which we submitted in 2007 and have yet to receive the state government's approval.

“The excuse given by the state planning committee was that it wanted to look at the land sales and purchase procedure and so on," he told reporters after opening a 'Peoples Well-being Development Scheme' workshop in Butterworth today.

Meanwhile, in Kuala Terengganu, the state government plans to build more affordable houses in the next five years, said Menteri Besar Ahmad Said.

He said at the moment, 10,000 units of affordable houses had been built and from the total, 8,000 units were already occupied while the remaining houses were still under construction.

"The affordable housing projects were not only built in Kuala Terengganu but in each state constituency," he told reporters after visiting an affordable flat in Kampung Batin in Kuala Terengganu this afternoon.

He said apart from the projects, the government also provided about 12,000 housing sites to the lower income group who do not own land to build their own houses.

According to him, priority for affordable housing sites were given to local residents who do not own houses.

- Bernama