HILLCREST Gardens Sdn Bhd expects better quality, cost and wastage control in its housing projects now that it has been awarded the environmental management system or ISO 14001 certification.
Its general manager Eapen Thomas said the company had complied with the audit for the certification, adding that this would reinforce its commitment to the property industry.
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Eapen Thomas, general manager of Hillcrest Gardens Sdn Bhd |
“The hardest part in obtaining the certification is in the trainingof the employees, consultants, vendors and contractors,” he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya yesterday.
The final audit of the accreditation would allow Hillcrest to direct its contractors to source construction materials for projects from approved vendors, Thomas said.
Hillcrest will be the second property developer in the country to receive the ISO 14001 after Sime UEP in 2000. It will receive the award during its 25th anniversary dinner tomorrow.
Moving forward, Hillcrest was seeking additional land bank and ensuring that its “employees are motivated and ambitious.”
Thomas said he was talking to agents representing landowners in the Klang Valley and Selangor to increase the current land bank of 200 acres to between 400 and 700.
“We have looked at land in Seremban, Nilai and Rawang but we rejected them because they were not suitable for our terrace house projects,” he said.
Hillcrest has 2 ongoing projects, Seri Gombak and Taman Puchong Utama in Selangor.
The Seri Gombak project, a mixed development of affordable homes with shops and offices, is nearly 85% completed. Hillcrest plans to develop 2 acres comprising 100 townhouses and launch the units middle of next year.
The 600-acre Taman Puchong Utama project is 60% completed. Hillcrest expects to launch 22 by 75 ft terrace houses costing between RM270,000 and RM280,000 before the end of this year.
During the first five months of this year, Hillcrest recorded profit before tax of RM8mil, Thomas said.
Its shareholders' funds stand at RM100mil and total borrowings at RM30mil.
Its major shareholders include Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (35%), Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd (27%) and Hong Kong-based Forerunner Investments Ltd (15%).
