By P. ARUNA

On the rise: Izham says property transactions in Kedah have been growing steadily at about 4 to 5 a year while the increase in prices has also been gradual.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah-based developer Bina Darulaman Bhd (BDB) has launched two integrated township projects with a combined gross development value (GDV) estimated at RM2.6bil.

The concept and lifestyle-themed townships, Darulaman Saujana and Darulaman Putra, dubbed “The Life Series”, will be located in Jitra and Sungai Petani, respectively, and are slated for completion in 10 years.

Darulaman Saujana, with a GDV of RM1bil, spans across 203 acres and will comprise 1,500 units of statutory housing, townhouses, link houses and bungalows, among others.

In Sungai Petani, Darulaman Putra will be developed on 232 acres with a GDV of RM1.6bil and will house the state’s first Botanical Wetlands Park.

“For the sustainability of our business, we bought two parcels of land from Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Kedah in 2014, and this is part of the monetisation of those land banks,” group managing director Datuk Izham Yusoff told a press conference after BDB’s Hari Raya open house here.

The first phase of the developments will comprise low-cost residential units, which the group plans to roll out in the fourth quarter of this year.

“In Kedah, the requirement is for us to provide low-cost housing, so this is where we intend to start.

“In these townships, we are offering a total of 600 to 700 units of affordable housing,” he said.

In Kedah, affordable or low-cost housing is defined as those offered at below RM200,000.

For the townships, Izham said BDB was looking at providing buyers with an environment that would appeal to young people, as well as retirees returning to the state from the Klang Valley, by offering modern facilities and at competitive prices.

“Some may wonder whether there will be demand for this type of properties up north in Kedah.

“Property transactions in Kedah have been growing steadily at about 4% to 5% a year while the increase in prices has also been gradual, so we do not anticipate a bubble happening here compared to other areas,” he said.

He added that the new projects would allow BDB to earn sustainable income over the next seven to 10 years.

As the land already belongs to the group, Izham said development costs would be funded internally.

If needed, he said BDB had the “standby” cash from its recent sukuk programme.

On further land acquisitions, he said the group was currently looking at a few potential purchases in Kedah as well as other states.