Padawan Municipal Council posts increase in properties and population

KUCHING: Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) has continued to experience steady growth in many areas, ranging from private properties to population, over the last 16 years.

MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the number of private properties or holdings in the area had grown from 20,894 units in 1996 to 65,355 last year.

He said this was an increase of 44,371 units in the last 16 years or an average of 2,772 units per year.

Lo said MPP had also experienced steady growth in assessment rates from RM4.26mil in 1996 to RM22.31mil in 2012.

“This is an increase of RM18.04mil in the last 16 years or an average of RM1.3mil per year,” he said at the launch of the Padawan Fest here yesterday.

Lo said the population in Padawan was also growing steadily over the same period, from approximately 105,000 in 1996 to 316,500 in 2012.

“This means population in MPP area has increased by an average of 13,218 per year,” he said.

On the other hand, he said, the trends in some of the important resources were static or decreasing.

He noted that there were not many changes in the manpower since 1996, saying MPP’s manpower strength was between 400 and 440 while their age was also increasing by the year.

Lo said MPP’s current logistics comprised 43 vehicles, of which 33 (77%) of them were more than 10 years old. Only 10 (23%) were below 10 years old.

“The aging vehicles mean maintenance cost is increasing every year,” he added.