9,185 affordable houses under PR1MA for Sarawak

A total of 9,185 affordable housing units will be constructed throughout Sarawak under the 1Malaysia People's Housing (PR1MA) programme. Depending on the location as well as types, landed property or apartment units, the price for each home ranges between RM100,000 to RM300,000. Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said most of the PR1MA projects are located in Kuching, namely Vista Tunku (1,877 units), Matang (912 units), Matang 2 (446 units), Petrajaya 2 (616 units), Bintawa (1,320 units) and Semenggoh (1,260 units), while the other two are locate in Sibu town (1,096 units) and Sungai Plan in Bintulu (1,656 units). The Matang project, which is apartment type, has begun construction and schedule to complete in 2018. "Rapid urbanisation taking place in Sarawak has called for the need to have sufficient, affordable and quality homes. "Prices of market homes in Sarawak's urban and sub-urban areas have also increased enormously over the years, making it unattainable especially for middle to low income group," Johari said today after the press conference on PR1MA 8 Projects and Expo 2016. "Based on our survey, many of our population are below the age of 45 and they are first time buyers. But house ownership is an issue among these people who do not qualify to purchase low cost houses," he added. Another issue raised by Johari is the population ratio in Sarawak. "Currently, it is standing at 50:50 (urban:rural). However, we expect it to increase to 60:40 (urban:rural) by year 2020. This is why we need to build more affordable houses now." Depending on the cost of land and infrastructures, Johari assured that upon completion, the price of houses would still be affordable. PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias said they are working closely with the state government, Ministry of Housing Sarawak and Housing Development Corporation Sarawak to build more projects throughout the state in the future. PR1MA has achieved a total number of 233,380 units which are approved to be built and of this, 75,859 units are already in various stages of construction. He also urged middle income residents in Sarawak to register and take this opportunity towards homeownership via online at www.pr1ma.my or take part in the expo which will be held from 11-13 March at the old state legislative assembly building. The public are encouraged to attend the expo, as it will not only showcase PR1MA projects, but also serve as an information hub on financial loans with participating banks and financial institutions. – March 3, 2016.]]>