PETALING JAYA (May 9): A total of 92 problematic private housing projects in Malaysia, with an estimated total gross development value (GDV) of RM5 billion involving 6,700 units, were restored in the first quarter of 2023 (1Q2023).

Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said 80 out of the 92 projects had received the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).

Meanwhile, the other 12 projects restored have returned to their construction schedule, according to Akmal Nasrullah at a press conference on Tuesday (May 9) held at Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia here.

As of end-March, he said the ministry had identified a total of 657 problematic housing projects, of which 435 were categorised as “sick” projects, 112 were abandoned projects, and 110 were delayed projects. 

The 435 “sick” projects were out of 3,153 licensed private housing projects, accounting for 13.8% of the total. 

He said the statistics were “dynamic”, as the extension of time for some housing projects was expiring, and more housing projects were being added into the problematic list. 

The government made a rough estimation of 1,044 problematic projects by the end of 2023, of which 326 will be delayed projects and 718 “sick” projects. 

A “sick” project is one that has been delayed by more than 30% compared to its scheduled progress, or one whose sales and purchase agreement has lapsed, according to the National Housing Department.

The Johor Bahru Member of Parliament said that 95 existing “sick” private housing projects were identified as facing utility-related issues. 

These issues involved electricity supply connections, sewerage systems, water supply, road and drainage facilities that became a constraint on the developers in completing the housing projects according to the schedule.

“This is one of the factors that contribute to the occurrence of sick private housing projects, apart from the main factor involving the companies' finances,” Akmal Nasrullah said.

He added that the ministry plans to meet with Tenaga Nasional Bhd at end-May to tackle the projects facing utility-related issues.

“Since utility and local authority issues have been identified as factors that will cause projects to be late and ‘sick’, developers have been advised to inform the ministry in an early stage if they experience such problems to avoid delays,” Akmal Nasrullah said.

Besides that, he said eight projects under the 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA) had successfully received the CCC, although the release of keys to housing owners is still ongoing. 

The eight PR1MA projects were Residensi Taman Raia Sentosa (Sungai Raia) and Residensi Sitiawan Phase 2 in Perak, Residensi Kota Tinggi and Residensi Pelangi Indah in Johor, Residensi Woodford Estate Phase 1 and Residensi Ranggu in Sabah, Residensi Seri Mahkota (Sungai Ular) in Kedah, and Residensi Bandar Bukit Mahkota in Selangor. 

He indicated that a ninth problematic PR1MA project, namely Residensi Seremban Sentral in Negeri Sembilan, will soon be restored.  

The government earlier set a target to complete 10 out of 20 problematic PR1MA projects within the year.