Old shabby flats to go, new ones built in their stead
Low-cost flats in five projects in Penang will soon be demolished and rebuilt to offer residents bigger units with better facilities and security measures.
Penang exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said such urban renewal projects were necessary as "it is not economically viable to maintain them anymore."
Jagdeep said the state government had formed a committee, which met in 2015, to look into several housing schemes, on the island and mainland.
"We found that for very old schemes, it is more economically viable to demolish and rebuild them into new homes. This is especially so in states like Penang where land is scarce," said Jagdeep, who is in charge of local government, housing, town and country planning....
Low-cost flats in five projects in Penang will soon be demolished and rebuilt to offer residents bigger units with better facilities and security measures.
Penang exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said such urban renewal projects were necessary as "it is not economically viable to maintain them anymore."
Jagdeep said the state government had formed a committee, which met in 2015, to look into several housing schemes, on the island and mainland.
"We found that for very old schemes, it is more economically viable to demolish and rebuild them into new homes. This is especially so in states like Penang where land is scarce," said Jagdeep, who is in charge of local government, housing, town and country planning.
Jagdeep said the state has earmarked five projects - three on the island and two on the mainland - to kickstart the regeneration process.
The five projects include Mahsuri, Rifle Range and Taman Free flats on the island, and Taman Siakap flats in Seberang Jaya and Taman Mak Mandin flats in Butterworth on the mainland.
Some of these low-cost flats have poor security facilities and are without lifts, said Jagdeep, making living in such buildings "unsafe" for the residents.
"After regeneration, there will be more units, a 250-300 sq ft flat will be turned into a 700 sq ft one,” he said.
Jagdeep emphasized that there would not be any permanent displacement as families who used to live there will be provided with units at the same site. And in the meantime the affected resisdents would be given an allocation to cover rental fees.
"Other than bigger units, there will be more facilities and security features," added Jagdeep, during his speech at the Strata Scheme Redevelopment Study Workshop by the Land and Mines Directorate-General in Penang today.
Jagdeep said although 90 percent of residents agree to the scheme, the remaining 10 percent might not be open to it.
"These are challenges we face, in which case, we have to invoke the right to compulsory acquisition, which is also practised in other jurisdictions like Singapore, so that we can carry out the scheme," he added.
Jagdeep said the scheme, mooted in 2015 in Penang, is also being studied at the federal level. However, new laws are necessary to address the matter at the national level.
"It is best to combine several important provisions such as land acquisition, housing and related laws in a single Act to avoid repetition and complications arising from different Acts concerning land use and property development," Jagdeep proposed.
Since 2008, Penang had spent RM55 million to repair public and private apartments, all of which were decades old.
"Malaysia should look to Singapore and Hong Kong, where urban renewal agencies look into demolishing and rebuilding any residential blocks that have been around for 35 years or more".
