Gov’t Eyes 139 Land Parcels For Affordable Housing Under KL’s 2040 Plan

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 (Bernama) --  The Federal Territories Department (JWP) has identified 139 land parcels spanning 1,228.95 hectares with potential for redevelopment, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), Dr Zaliha Mustafa said. 

According to the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040 (PSKL2040) and the Draft Kuala Lumpur Local Plan 2040 (DPTKL2040), these sites have been identified as potential locations for affordable housing once they are redeveloped in the future, she said. 

“To achieve this goal, the Draft DPTKL2040 has introduced Residential 4 Land Use (R4), a dedicated zone for affordable housing projects, including public housing, covering 354.47 hectares,” she said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today. 

Dr Zaliha was responding to a question from Onn Abu Bakar (PH-Batu Pahat) regarding the availability of federal and DBKL-owned land for affordable housing development, as well as the government’s short-and long-term plans for this initiative.

She also said that affordable housing is planned within high-density residential, commercial, and mixed-use development zones, with an additional 253.39 hectares allocated for various categories of affordable housing, not limited to just Residensi MADANI and RUMAWIP, now known as Rumah Wilayah.

Dr Zaliha said the redevelopment efforts are not solely reliant on government-owned land but also incorporate private sector participation, in line with commitments and approvals set through 2040.

“As a proactive and innovative approach to improving access to affordable housing, the Draft DPTKL2040 has also designated six sites for Subsidised Rental Public Housing (PASS) for the B40 and M40 income groups, utilising DBKL-owned land,” she added.

She also said that a total of 80,000 units under the Residensi MADANI and RUMAWIP programmes are planned for construction between 2018 and 2028.

“To date, 91 per cent of this target has been achieved, with 72,864 units completed across 101 projects in all three Federal Territories — Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

“This achievement is not by chance but the result of strategic government intervention, consistently adopting creative solutions to ensure the realisation of affordable housing development,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Zaliha said DBKL will propose to the Education Ministry the development of vertical schools in Kuala Lumpur to address land constraints and the growing population in the capital.

She said this concept, widely adopted in Australia, involves compact school buildings with integrated sports and recreational facilities, ranging from 10 to 17 stories high across two main blocks.

“This approach ensures that essential elements such as education, sports and recreation are not compromised, while also utilising rooftop spaces effectively,” she said in response to a supplementary question from Onn on plans to develop essential infrastructure, such as schools and community halls, in Kuala Lumpur.

-- BERNAMA