PONTIAN: A total of 170 families from three villages in Benut will not have to pay the land premiums for their new houses in Kampung Parit Makuaseng.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the state government has agreed to provide an 80% discount on the payment, with the remaining 20% paid by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
He said the payments are being made to villagers of Kampung Nelayan, Kampung Sri Tanjung and Kampung Sungai Sanglang.
“Taman Dato’ Hajjah Fatimah Salim was built on a 12ha plot of land in Kampung Parit Makuaseng as a solution for the three villages who have been affected by flooding for years," he said.
Onn Hafiz added that the project's total development cost of RM38mil would be borne by the ministry and that each house is worth RM150,000.
“This means that the villagers do not have to pay the land premiums and they also get a new house for free,” he said during a speech at the key handing-over ceremony at Dewan Serbaguna Benut on Sunday (June 18).
The project involved the construction of semi-detached houses measuring 35x70 ft and basic facilities such as roads, water and electricity supply as well as sewage treatment systems.
In addition, Onn Hafiz said, it also included infrastructure such as a hall, surau, kindergarten, and four units of shops.
The project began in 2014 and was completed in August last year.
The maintenance of the hall, surau, kindergarten and shoplots will be handled by the state government, Onn Hafiz said.
On April 28, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the Johor government had agreed to give an 80% discount on the land premiums, or RM1.6mil of the total RM2mil.
