'Cheaper house prices if DP approved faster'
Published on: Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: House prices in Sabah could be reduced by about 10 per cent if the development plan (DP) were to be processed and approved faster by the Central Board under the State Local Government and Housing Ministry.Assuring this, Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) President Datuk Francis Goh said this could be done by changing the current approval procedure which involves the Board, local authorities and relevant departments.He said Shareda had always voiced out the developers' concerns over the long duration – between 18 and 24 months – for processing and approval of the DP by the concerned authorities.
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Compared to other places in the country like Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Francis said there is no such thing as taking so long time to process and approve the DP."As Shareda President, I have proposed and urged the ministry to expedite the processing of development orders, including the DP, building plans and issuance of developer licence."We recommend the 'top down' procedure instead of the traditional 'bottom up' process to the Central Board whereby it is highly suggested that the DP is submitted directly to the Board, which is the highest authority to approve the DP. "By doing this, whether the plan is approved or not could be known faster and thus the risks borne by the developers reduced," he said after jointly launching the Riverside Residence @ Sodomon residential project together with 1CKC Development Chairman, Chang Kok Chung, here.
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Under the 'bottom up' procedure, the developers have to submit their DP to the local authority that will later distribute it to 11 advisory departments like the Public Works Department (PWD) and Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) to give their comments and feedback on the DP.He said some departments would be very fast in providing their responses, while some would take from six to 12 months, especially when giving feedback on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.
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"After all comments have been gathered from the 11 relevant departments, the local authority will call for a meeting to look into the DP and give approval. Then later on, they will forward the DP to the Central Board."When in the Board, we have to queue up again for another three to four months for it to deliberate on the DP. After the Board approves, then it will authorise the local authority to give approval."So the whole procedure from start to approval of the DP will take about 18 to 24 months. This, plus the need for us to apply for the commercial rate to pay for the (land) premium and the developer licence that would take another six months, the whole process could reach up to about 30 months," he said.Francis said the developers would incur hefty losses, including paying consultation fees, when the Central Board rejects the DP."But if the 'top down' procedure is to be adopted by the ministry, it will reduce the development risks," he said.Francis said the delay in processing development orders always constituted five to 10 per cent of the property prices which caused the people to whine and complain why the properties were becoming expensive.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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