KUALA LUMPUR: The delayed 1Malaysia People's Housing Scheme (PR1MA) project in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan involving 659 housing units will recommence and is expected to complete in September.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said the ministry would appoint a contractor to resume construction works which were supposed to complete in June last year.

She said the service of the previous contractor appointed for the project had been terminated after it failed to complete the construction works according to schedule.

As of Feb 28, the status of the respective PR1MA project was 75 per cent complete.

“Now we have to wait for a new one (contractor) to come in,” she told reporters in response to a question on the development of the project, after a working visit at the Ampang parliamentary constituency here, yesterday.

Zuraida, who is also the Ampang Member of Parliament, also informed that the PR1MA project in Tebrau, Johor which was also delayed, has obtained the Certificate of Completion and Compliance and the house keys would be handed over to the owners soon.

Meanwhile, on the redevelopment of the Highland Towers condominium area which has been abandoned for 28 years, Zuraida said the ministry was still waiting for the land acquisition process from the Selangor government to complete, before demolition and cleaning works could be carried out.

The application to acquire the 0.8-hectare of land involving an allocation of RM8.9 million has also been submitted to the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department.

On Dec 11, 1993, one of the three Highland Towers condominium blocks in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang collapsed in a tragedy that took 48 lives.

-- BERNAMA