PETALING JAYA - The latest move by Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) to stop revi­ving abandoned housing projects received mixed response from the public.

National Housebu­yers Association (HBA) secretary-general Chang Kim Loong applauded the decision to transfer the responsibility to the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Under the latest policy, the ministry would work with private developers in reviving abandoned houses.

“This move will encourage the ministry to be more vigilant in issuing licences to develo­pers, as the ministry will also be responsible for the projects should it be abandoned,” he said yesterday.

Chang said the new SPNB move would improve transparency and accountability of the parties involved in reviving abandoned projects and make the process more streamlined.

However, Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Redha) deputy president Datuk FD Iskandar disagreed, saying it would be difficult for private developers to take over projects from the previous parties.

“The original developers and bankers are often reluctant to hand over their projects to a white knight, thinking that they can still make profits from the project,” he said.

Iskandar also said the mechanism needed to be amended to attract developers to complete abandoned low-cost housing projects.

On Monday, SPNB managing director Datuk Dr Kamarul Rashdan Salleh said the ministry, through the Commissioner of Buildings, would revive abandoned housing projects.

Last year, SPNB revived a total of 1,004 units of abandoned houses.

-- Star Property