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Ideal United Bintang International Bhd (IUBIB) will develop RM828.6mil worth of property for the 1Malaysia People’s Housing or PR1MA programme in the fourth quarter.

Dubbed Penang’s “Property King”, group executive chairman Tan Sri Ooi Kee Liang told StarBiz that the project is located in the sought-after neighbourhood of Island Glades on the island.

“The scheme comprises 1,611 units of affordable and high-end homes.

“The affordable units of 850 sq ft are priced between RM300,000 and RM400,000 and will be sold to an approved list of buyers, whereas the high-end homes, priced below RM700,000, are targeted at the open market.

“Our building and layout plans for the project have been approved.

“The project is scheduled for completion in 2024, ” he said.

According to Ooi, the project will generate about RM400mil worth of construction and renovation jobs.

Projects undertaken by IUBIB started work about two weeks ago with approval from the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

“We are now preparing for construction work to resume for the Imperial Grande and Amarene projects in the south-west district, ” he said.

The RM524mil Imperial Grande comprises 938 condominiums, while the RM263mil Amarene, 410 units.

“The former is over 80% completed and should be ready by the end of the year, while the latter is over 50% completed and is expected to be completed by end-2021, ” he added.

“The challenge now is to get all our foreign workers tested, as there are limited Covid-19 testing facilities in the country, ” Ooi said.

According to Ooi, all the group’s projects will be completed on schedule.

“We have always planned ahead for all our development projects. Hence, we do not foresee any major issues in delivering the developments within the time frame.

“To overcome the social distancing issue and shorter workings hours, the team has in place a complete acceleration plan which will effectively utilise our manpower and machinery resources to ensure that the projects are on track at all time.

“We are currently liaising with the relevant state authorities to work out a plan to allow longer working hours after the conditional movement control order is lifted, ” Ooi said.

IUBIB plans to increase its land bank on the island to 400 acres over the next two to three years.

He said now was a good time to acquire new land bank on the island as property prices were coming down.

“We have 146.99 acres of land bank on the island currently, which will provide us with a stable supply for the next five years.

“We are undertaking six housing projects currently and planning an RM600mil township scheme in Balik Pulau.

“The total gross development value of these projects is RM2.89bil, ” he said.

The planned high-rise units have built-up areas between 1,000 sq ft and 1,200 sq ft and are priced from RM400,000.

Ooi said the group needed more land to implement new development projects to cater to the needs of the market beyond the next five years.

“We will also need to review and re-strategise new concepts to be introduced into our products in the post-MCO period.

“IUBIB will be more focused on affordable housing schemes, landed properties, and industrial development projects, which will help strengthen the ‘Ideal’ property brand.

“As the cost of construction is expected to soften, we will have the opportunity to improve the development cost and quality of our projects, ” he said.

Ooi and Datuk Joanne Phor, who is executive director in the company, currently hold a 74.97% stake through their shareholdings in ICT Innotech Sdn Bhd.

Source: TheStar.com.my