23 January, PUTRAJAYA – The Ministry of Federal Territories (FT) will commence its affordable housing project, dubbed the ‘Residensi Wilayah’ in Kuala Lumpur (KL) this year with a target 10,000 units to be built in three years.
Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said the Residensi Wilayah is an improved version of the Rumah Wilayah Persekutuan (Rumawip) project initiated by the previous government.
He said the houses in Residensi Wilayah would be slightly bigger, each measuring 900 sqft with a population density of 800 people per acre compared to Rumawip’s 800sqft each with a density of 1,200 people per acre, and would be sold at a price not exceeding RM300,000 per unit.
The development of this project will involve cooperation from the private sector, he said, adding that the ministry was in the midst of identifying suitable land owned by the KL City Hall for the development of the project.
In a press conference here today in conjunction with the FT Day 2019 celebration on Feb 1, Khalid said the project was one of the six key elements in the FT Vision 2019 programme.
He said the vision of ‘Wilayah Peduli, Harapan Dipenuhi’ would be launched on Jan 28 and would focus on the six key elements, namely to have clean cities; public safety; efficient public transport; sustainable socio-economic policy; green environment and an inclusive community.
Khalid said the ministry also planned to provide ‘Medic Bus’ and a free tuition centre at the People’s Housing Projects (PPR), as well as introducing a youth icon programme.
For the conservation of the green environment, the ministry will intensify the use of biodegradable materials and joint-venture approaches for the care of public parks, while for clean cities, awareness campaigns will be held to promote the culture of cleanliness among FT citizens so that they will not rely on cleaning work by local authorities alone, he said.
The minister said more lights and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras would be provided at suitable locations to ensure public safety, while in a bid to have an inclusive community, the ministry had set up a Council of Ministers where all KL parliamentarians would meet four times a week with him and senior KL City Hall officials in drafting plans and developments in the capital.
Other projects to be implemented by the ministry this year include the monorail construction in Putrajaya, the takeover of solid waste management from SWCorp, the gazettement of the federal park in Bukit Kiara, and the request for proposal (RFP) for the construction of a new bridge and ferry terminal in Labuan and to revive the Halal Hub in Labuan.
Meanwhile, Khalid also said that the ministry would continue its urban redevelopment projects by focusing on the the old PPR buildings in Kuala Lumpur.
He said the projects would involve the old five-storey flats which will be redeveloped and given to the original owners for free.
The sites of the flats will be redeveloped with high-rise affordable apartment buildings, with more units to be made available.
We want to revive these old flats and we do not want the old PPR sites to turn into slump areas, he said adding that the sites for the redevelopment projects would be announced later.
Meanwhile, on the issue of Bangsar South and Kerinchi areas, he said it just a misunderstanding regarding the name of the area.
Bangsar South is the name given to the development of the area located in Kerinchi, he said.
– BERNAMA