THE Penang Regional Develop-ment Authority (Perda) will build 238 low-cost units for the poor at Kampung Tok Subuh in Bukit Minyak, Bukit Mertajam.

Construction will start soon and the project is expected to be completed in two years.

Perda chairman Datuk Azhar Ibrahim, who is also Penang Umno secretary, said the project costing RM15mil would benefit the poor in the area.

“A local consultant has been appointed to oversee the project unlike the state which appointed a Singaporean consultant company to handle its low-cost project in Batu Kawan.”

He said this after presenting keys to 13 house owners who were former occupants of the land at Kampung Tok Subuh on Friday.

The houses built by Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) cost RM70,000 each.

The Federal Government has subsidised RM44,000 and the re- maining RM26,000 will be paid by the new owners over the next 25 years.

Also present at the handover were SPNB acting senior general manager Datuk Ahmad Azizi Ali and Bukit Mertajam Umno division chief Senator Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir.

Azhar said the project was to show that the Government was concerned about the plight of the poor and it had plans to uplift the lifestyle of poor and the lower-income groups.

Source: The Star