FREE MALAYSIA TODAY. 29TH MAY: Deputy local government development minister Akmal Nasrullah Nasir blames the impact from the Covid-19 lockdowns for this predicament.
The number of “sick”, delayed and abandoned private housing projects will likely increase, says deputy local government development minister Akmal Nasrullah Nasir.
He said the increase of such problematic housing projects were due to the impact of the movement control orders (MCO) imposed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bernama reported.
He said the task force established to look into these projects had identified a total of 657 projects – comprising 110 delayed, 435 “sick”, and 112 abandoned – as of March 31.
Akmal added that the task force had to evaluate the number of projects on a monthly basis because the status of a project could “change dramatically”.
He also said that the task force’s main focus was to reduce the number of “sick” projects.
“There are several aspects that we look into including the developer’s ability to complete the project and the problems faced. The task force will then try to facilitate the process.”
The government had set up a “war room” in January to monitor the 550 “sick” housing projects identified nationwide at the time. It is led by Akmal.
In February, local government development minister Nga Kor Ming told the Dewan Rakyat that a total of 429 projects, comprising 70,727 homes, were categorised as “sick” projects.