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Kuala Lumpur: The government is looking at a new budget for the construction of public housing units under Program Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin (PPRT) as contractors are not willing to build such units currently.

The budget to build one PPRT unit is set at a maximum of RM56,000 currently, while the maintenance rate is RM13,000 per unit.

Deputy rural development minister Abdul Rahman Mohamad told the Dewan Rakyat, however, that the cost of building one PPRT unit has now increased to at least RM67,000.

“Contractors are not willing to build these units. The ministry is discussing a new pricing guideline which will be presented to the Cabinet so we will be able to implement it by this year,” he said in response to a question from Salim Sharif (BN-Jempol).

“The ministry has tried its best to persuade (the contractors) but without any success. That is why we are discussing how we are going to get a new rate for the construction of the PPRT units.”

The PPRT comes under the purview of the rural development ministry, but is mostly similar to the housing and local government ministry’s public housing unit scheme, Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR).