BY N.TRISHA

Filepic of Jagdeep Singh (wearing tie) with his special assistant Daniel Gooi (right) and residentslooking at the repainted Taman Free School flats in July 2013. — Photo: GEORGE CHEAH/The Star

OLD buildings especially flat blocks which are not economically viable to retain will be demolished and new ones rebuilt in its place.

Penang Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the state had spent a lot of money to maintain old buildings such as the Rifle Range flat blocks which cost RM10.2mil to maintain from 2008 to 2015.

“Other high maintenance flat blocks are in Taman Tun Sardon (RM5.2mil), Mak Mandin (RM3.1mil) and Taman Free School (RM2.6mil). These flat blocks are aged between 29 and 35 years,” he told a press conference at his service centre yesterday.

“The idea is to create a better quality of life for the residents. Our pilot project under the newly established Urban Regeneration Committee will be the Taman Free School flat blocks, which will be demolished so that the 1,250 one-room units of 500sq ft will be transformed into three-room, two-bathroom 700sq ft units,” he said.

Jagdeep said the Urban Regeneration Committee would also identify existing buildings namely flats that needed to be repainted or refurbished to make them better for the residents.

“When old buildings are regenerated, wellness elements such as handrails for the elderly and panic buttons in case of an emergency can be incorporated into it.

“The state will also look into the necessary legal aspects as some of these units are privately owned.”

Jagdeep said the new flat blocks would be rebuilt in accordance with the current density allowance, adding that residents would be given a one-for-one unit while the extra units would be sold to recover the costs.

“A Request For Proposal will be called for the project. Awareness about the committee’s role will be created through roadshows and meetings with residents.”

When asked about the residents’ relocation, he said they would either be given rental money until the buildings were completed or a block of flats would be built in the existing compound to house them.

The committee will hold a meeting on Dec 7.