Good news for people who are looking for homes! The government has promised that they will build up to 100,000 affordable homes that will not cost more than RM300,000 by end of 2019. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says that this is in line with the National Housing Policy under the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
One of the government’s top priorities to make sure that the citizens have an efficient supply of affordable homes, The Star reported. Dr Mahathir also reiterated the government’s promise to help the citizens, especially the lower income group, during his speech at the launch of Gamuda Bhd’s digital industrialised building system (IBS) on Thursday (May 2).
He hopes that by doing so, the lower income group can have a comfortable living space in a good location where they have more opportunities for employment, as well as economic opportunities. “In effect, this will elevate their socio-economic status and, in turn, will contribute to a healthy economic growth for the nation,” he added. That’s true!
“The lower-income or bottom 40% (B40) income group and middle-income M40 group are the main focus of the National Housing Policy over the next five years,” he said. In fact, the government had proposed in its manifesto to build a million affordable homes within the next decade, which is about 100,000 affordable homes every year.
If you’re thinking that these affordable homes would be low quality and small then you’re wrong! “The specifications include built-ups of not less than 900 sq ft with the necessary types of amenities, facilities, and infrastructure being developed,” he said. That’s a decent size!
During the launch of the revolutionary system that includes Building Information Modelling (BIM), an online design tool, and IBS in public housing projects, Dr Mahathir said that the tools would be very helpful for the government’s target of building affordable homes.
“I was informed that Digital IBS provides an opportunity to upscale our local workforce for the future. Moving towards digital IBS technology will enable developers to build cheaper homes in a shorter period of time,” he said, as IBS did not need much labour and helps reduce costs.
Hopefully, this can ensure that Malaysians with lower income are able to actually buy their own homes in the future!
Also read: Here’s How The New National Housing Policy Will Affect Malaysians