KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has offered landowners in Kampung Baru here an average of RM6mil in compensation to acquire their land, says Khalid Abdul Samad.
The Federal Territories Minister said the offer made was RM850 per square foot and the Government had gone with the highest price proposed by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH), which was tasked with the land valuation.
The proposed range was from RM650 to RM850 per square foot.
"Apart from the land price, we will also compensate them for whatever structures built on the land.
"On average, each land plot stands to receive RM6mil worth in compensation," he said.
Khalid was speaking during a townhall session attended by 2,500 residents from Kampung Baru, held at Dewan Perdana Felda at Jalan Maktab on Saturday (Sept 21) to explain the redevelopment plan and the compensation packages being offered.
There are four compensation options to choose from – cash compensation, ownership of a completed house, a combination of cash and house or become a shareholder in the project.
Payment will be made in two stages – the first 10% upon agreement to sell and the other 90% upon successful registration of the unit ownership transfer.
Some residents however, expressed frustration at the perceived low offer, saying that lands in nearby areas such as Ampang and KLCC were valued higher.
Khalid explained that the valuation took into account the estimated returns of the project.
"Our aim is to build affordable housing units and commercial spaces for the Malays.
"If we were to pay higher compensation to acquire the land, then we will have to up the price of the completed units.
"This would defeat the project's original purpose, which was to provide affordable housing and commercial units for the Malays," he said.
The redevelopment would cover 837 land plots, totalling up to 62ha.
"Of the total area, 70% would go towards building 45,000 units of affordable houses, while another 30% will be reserved for commercial spaces.
"At Jalan Raja Muda Musa, 9.71ha will be allocated for the Malay heritage park and a food court," said Khalid.
"We target that by 2050, the Malay population in Kampung Baru will reach 160,000," he said, adding that ownership is exclusive to Malay buyers.
On concerns that the redevelopment would displace Malays from Kampung Baru, Khalid said that any development plan there must abide by Act 733 Kampung Baru Development Corporation, Section 14(4) which stipulated that ownership is exclusive for Malays.
He expressed optimism that the residents would cooperate after all concerns are ironed out.
"Hopefully by February next year, we would be able to get everyone on board with the plan," he said.
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