GEORGE TOWN – The Penang government today announced that the overhang of affordable housing in the state is now showing a significant drop by about 7% compared with last year’s numbers.
State Housing, Local Government and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said he was informed by the Finance Ministry that the overhang rate for affordable housing in the state is now at 3.6% as of the middle of this year, compared with 9% to 10% at the end of last year.
“This means that there is a huge demand for affordable housing in Penang and the state government will continue with people-friendly development like this.
“We all know that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, many people were affected and faced financial problems. So, we must help each other,” he told a press conference after visiting the Gurney Wharf project site today.
Jagdeep called on developers to focus on building affordable housing rather than increasing the overhang of luxury homes by building more of such properties.
“Developers need to see the need to build affordable homes and not just build luxury homes. Affordable housing is the way for us to move forward.”
Last August, the state government had urged the Housing and Local Government Ministry to focus on affordable housing in the state.
Jagdeep had reportedly said the state government is in the process of providing 220,000 units of affordable housing units by 2030, with around 119,000 units already occupied and in various phases of construction.
Meanwhile, Jagdeep also said that construction for the Gurney Wharf project on the newly reclaimed coastal area off Gurney Drive will begin by year-end.
He said consultants are in the final stages of preparing the tender documents for the project.
“Although Covid-19 continues to spread, the implementation of this project must continue as planned as this is a social project for the benefit of Penangites,” he said.
He said that an open tender process also provides opportunities for more qualified contractors to be involved and usher in more competitive price offers to the state government.
The Gurney Wharf project is a waterfront public park located on a portion of more than 36ha of reclaimed land off the Gurney Drive promenade.
It will be equipped with a playground, food court, footpaths, including for the disabled, as well as a water taxi pier and green city park. – The Vibes, September 18, 2021
