GEORGE TOWN – Selling land through open tender is among the steps Penang will take to boost its revenue, as the state seeks to avoid yet another deficit budget.
“Through this method, government land will be disposed of to the highest bidder, subject to land conditions, to maximise and generate higher returns to the state government,” Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told the state assembly today.
“The second strategy is for Penang Development Corporation to become the landowner of industrial plots.”
These plots have become government land through acquisition for industrial purposes.
“However, this government land is not disposed of until suitable and interested investors submit applications for ownership,” said Chow.
“Therefore, through this method, the state government will get a consistent return through land tax from the land bank.”
On the third strategy, he said the state administration plans to reclassify land from rural to urban, a move deemed necessary and inevitable given the number of areas that have become urbanised.
“The most notable examples are the towns of Bayan Baru and Bayan Lepas. Bayan Lepas is urban land, while Bayan Baru is rural land, but when you look at the development... the development in Bayan Baru outweighs the development in Bayan Lepas.”
The last strategy is to change the ownership of the interim register (IR) for unclear cases.
Chow said tens of thousands of land titles have not been converted to be in line with the National Land Code 1965.
“The estimated time to complete the IR ownership transfer process is between three and five years, according to the complexity of the ownership issue.
"When the process of exchanging IR ownership begins, it is likely that Penang will benefit in the form of the return of land with unclear ownership to the government, which can then be disposed of.” – The Vibes, October 19, 2020
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