Selangor's Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim assured that the price of affordable homes in the state will remain within the reach of ordinary Malaysians and will not exceed RM120,000, reported The Sun Daily.
"As an initial step, the state has set the price for affordable houses (800-1,000 sq feet) for middle-income earners at between RM 85,000 and RM120,000," he said during the Selangor affordable housing design competition 2012 awards ceremony.
The ceiling price is also important because recent studies revealed that around 40 percent of households in the state earn between RM2,500 and RM5,000. This move ensures that the Selangor's citizens, particularly the young, could get a roof under their heads.
Aside from that, the need for affordable homes has increased significantly due to Selangor's rising population density, which is the highest in Malaysia. The state's population growth rate of 3.17 percent surpasses the national average of 2.17 percent.
"We have 5,411,324 residents. If you add the immigrants, our population might be almost seven million," he explained.
"This has become a challenge for the state to provide for the people's needs, including housing, as we estimated about 1.8 million houses are needed to meet the needs of the people as we approach 2020."
Moreover, Selangor's first affordable housing project, which was undertaken by a private developer in Sg Long, Kajang, is scheduled to be completed this month; while the project at Seksyen U10, Shah Alam will comprise 536 units.
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