By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Nov 4: A total of 90 units of Semariang Avenue’s ‘Sri Pertiwi’ affordable houses constructed using the Industrialised Building System (IBS) is expected to be completed in 18 months and ready by June, 2023.
Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said there would be 60 unit single storey terrace houses, 28 units double storey terrace houses, and two units of single storey semi detached houses.
Glad to have launched the IBS construction of the project, she said Sri Pertiwi is one of Sarawak’s affordable housing schemes introduced with the aim to ease the burden of B40 and M40 groups.
Others including Spektra Housing Scheme and Spektra Permata Housing Scheme (RSP) are the Sarawak government’s efforts to provide more affordable housing project to the people, allowing opportunities for the target groups to have their own dream homes while accelerating rural development.
“The eligibility requirements for this Sri Pertiwi housing scheme are that the applicant must be either Sarawakian citizen or permanent residents of Sarawak from the B40 and M40 (groups) that have gross households incomes of between RM4,000 to RM 10,000 monthly.
“The maximum selling price for a Sri Pertiwi terrace house would be RM270,000 for intermediate unit, and RM295,000 for corner unit.
“The Sri Pertiwi terrace houses consists of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living area, a dining room and a kitchen with the minimum floor area of 900 square feet,” she said before officiating the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Hornbill Networks Consortium Sdn Bhd and Asteel Group for the Semariang Avenue project at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today.
Semariang Avenue, which is a ‘Sri Pertiwi’ affordable housing project will be implemented specially using IBS whereby constructions of a building is done by fitting together pre-constructed parts made in a factory.
Hornbill Networks Consortium has appointed Asteel Group as the IBS contractor to ensure that the project adheres to the QLASSIC System based on Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Construction Industry Standard (CIS 7:2006).
CIDB has been promoting the use of IBS for years, arguing that it will improve quality of houses, save the need for foreign labour, accelerate construction timelines, and reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry.
Private sector adoption has seen some impressive growth in recent years, with use of IBS in private developments rising from 14 percent in 2015 to around 35 per cent in 2019.
Sharifah Hasidah, who is also Semariang assemblywoman, said this initiative by Hornbill Networks Consortium and Asteel Group to use IBS in the Semariang Avenue project is a step in the right direction to ensure delivery of good quality homes within a short period of time.
“Indeed this is a timely intervention by both parties when project and affordable home delivery is severely delayed due to the rising cost of material and labour,” she said.
Also present at the ceremony were Hornbill Networks Consortium chairman Datuk Abdul Kadier Sahib, Hornbill Networks Consortium managing director Hanizam Hashim, and Asteel Group group director Dato Sri Victor Hii Lu Thian.— DayakDaily
