IF it regains Selangor, Barisan Nasional will review the state government’s additional conditions on housing projects which had resulted in higher costs to build homes, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“If given the responsibility to lead Selangor, we will study the additional conditions set by the state government, not only to PR1MA homes but also other developers.

“(Developers) have voiced out their dissatisfaction on the additional conditions. They said the conditions increase the building costs and the people will have to bear the burden,” he said in a press conference after attending “Ekspo Jualan Perumahan – Ke Arah Sejuta Impian” at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

On March 6, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar told the Dewan Rakyat that the federal government’s efforts to provide affordable homes were being restricted by the Selangor government’s policies, especially those involving the change of land status, and expensive land prices.

He said a total of 60,000 units of PR1MA houses were planned to be built in Selangor, but only 7,000 could be completed with 27,000 more under construction.

Najib meanwhile added that the federal government didn’t neglect states like Penang and Selangor in building affordable homes as many projects are ongoing at various stages of implementation.

“(These include) 1,017 units in Permatang Pauh, 1,248 units in Batu Feringgi and 2,387 units in Bukit Gelugor,” he said.

He said a total of 139,338 affordable homes had been completed and another 311,281 homes were under constructions, with the remaining units in the planning stage.

He said to date, PR1MA Members of Corporation (MOC) has approved more than 267,640 homes nationwide for development and 16,000 of its homes have been taken up, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM4 billion in just under two years. – March 24, 2018.