“I have seen the land myself. After consultation with municipal engineers, the highest cost to resolve the erosion problem would be at about RM5 million or even lesser.
“So, what RM15.2 million losses are they talking about?” he asked during a visit to the 3.4 hectare plot of land near MRSM Transkrian, Nibong Tebal here today.
Last week, Lim revealed the land was sold to SYT Prestige Sdn Bhd at RM1.42 million by the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) last year, an agency under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Department to develop the state.
He said an Inland Revenue Board land adjudication however valued the land at RM16.6 million.
The land was originally acquired by the government in 1986 at RM1.7 million to build affordable homes.
In defending the move to push off the land at a low price, Perda chairman Shabudin Yahaya said it was sold cheap due to soil erosion problems, among others.
Shabudin also said a cost benefit analysis showed it was no longer worthy pursuing the project on the site—as it would incur losses of up to RM10 million. He cited the 107 homes already built but which had been abandoned for the past 30 years.
Shabudin explained proceeds of the RM1.42 million sale was to be distributed to 250 future home owners.
He added the new landowners were told to sell the homes planned for the site from RM42,000 to RM200,000.