BY RAZAK AHMAD

Proud moment: Najib taking pictures of the newly-completed 1Razak Mansion in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: The redevelopment of the 50-year-old low-cost flats of Razak Mansion, which has been completed nine months ahead of schedule, marks yet another personal milestone for the Prime Minister.

Located near the old Air Force base in Sungai Besi here, Razak Mansion was launched in 1967 by the then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

Yesterday, his son Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak handed the 658 original residents keys to their new apartments following the completion of the redeveloped flats now known as 1Razak Mansion.

The 1Razak Mansion is made up of 658 three-bedroom apartment units near the original Razak Mansion flats.

“The old Razak Mansion was launched by my late father nearly 50 years ago, on April 26, 1967,” Najib said at the ceremony.

“Today, the original residents will receive new units which are much larger at 74sq m (800sq ft), and while their old units are only worth between RM60,000 and RM80,000, their new ones are worth no less than RM350,000,” he noted.

Of the 658 residents, 557 will give up their old Razak Mansion flat units in exchange for new apartment units free of charge.

The remaining 101 who are renting Razak Mansion flats will be offered the new apartment units at RM42,000.

The 1Razak Mansion was built by developer Impianika Development Sdn Bhd in a public-private partnership with the Government, with construction starting in 2014.

Apart from the apartment units, 23 shops, a market and other public facilities such as a surau and community hall have also been built.

Realising that the majority of the residents are low or medium-income earners, the Prime Minister has also asked the developer to help ease the burden of moving into their new homes.

All units are offered with 99-year leaseholds, with the developer to foot RM3,000 in moving costs for each owner.

The developer will also bear maintenance costs for all the units for the next two years.

Najib lauded the developer for completing the project nine months early, adding that the initiative was part of the Government’s urban redevelopment efforts to provide Kuala Lumpur residents with more affordable housing.

“Razak Mansion used to look like an urban slum and was an eyesore, but with the concept of public-private partnership, we have managed to change the face of this area into an urban redevelopment project we can be proud of,” he said.

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