Make car parks optional for housing projects near rail stations, says Loke
The transport minister welcomes the suggestion by the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association.
KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook has proposed that developers make car parks optional for new housing projects located near rail stations to reduce property prices and encourage use of public transport.
He said the government could consider a pilot project to be built near an LRT, MRT or monorail station.
“The parking lot can be optional. It kills two birds with one stone. For those who do not want car parks, the units can be cheaper,” he said after launching the Home Ownership Campaign-Malaysia Property Expo 2019 at Mid Valley Megamall today.
Loke said the suggestion came from the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda), and they could propose any specific project to the housing and local government ministry for consideration.
“We want to send a message that if you use public transport, prices can be lower,” he said, adding that car parks will be available for those who want them.
Earlier, during his speech, Loke said the proposal is also in line with the government’s initiatives to promote public transport, such as expanding LRT 3 and MRT 2.
He said commuters can benefit by purchasing the RM100 a month card to use LRT, MRT, monorail, BRT and Rapid bus services.
“The card is for an unlimited number of trips and, at the same time, the purchasers pay less for their units,” he said.
Rehda president Soam Heng Choon said each car park could cost as much as RM50,000.
He said a condominium unit in the Klang Valley costing RM500,000 could be cheaper by as much as RM50,000 if it did not come with a car park.
“We can bring down the prices. Now, because of the requirement to have sufficient parking lots, the prices are high,” he said.
Soam said Rehda had come up with the suggestion in view of the improvement in public transport, and “when there is sufficient public transport, why pay more?”
Loke, meanwhile, said the government has also upgraded and refurbished the monorail cars.
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“There were a lot of complaints when I took over the ministry,” he said.