AP LAND Development Sdn Bhd, a privately-owned property developer, has won a deal to build 20,000 units of affordable houses for Armed Forces personnel nationwide- The five-year project has a gross development value (GDV) of RM3 billion- "It is estimated that some 80 per cent of retired army personnel currently do not own a house- In fact, there is a lot of working personnel who also do not own a house," project director Ghazali Mohamad said at a media briefing in Petaling Jaya yesterday- The "Skim Perumahan Angkatan Tentera 1Malaysia" will start with the construction of 250 units in Pahang this April- The plan is to build houses in every state-AP Land Development is a Bumiputera-owned company and is not linked to the listed Asia Pacific Land Bhd- The company had signed an agreement with Koperasi Perumahan Angkatan Tentera Bhd (KPAT) to jointly develop semi-detached houses and bungalows for army personnel and retirees nationwide- This is the first 1Malaysia housing scheme concept launched by KPAT, a cooperative for army personnel that was established in 1965 with the aim to provide homes to security personnel throughout the country- "If not for their (state governments) help, we would not be able to provide such houses and bungalows at reasonable prices for the army personnel- Our houses under the scheme range between RM96,000 and RM195,000 a unit," he said- Prospective buyers can contact KPAT to buy the houses as well as secure 100 per cent loans, including legal fees, from the cooperative- They also need not pay a 10 per cent deposit- As for AP Land Development, Ghazali said the company expects to launch several new projects, with a GDV of RM200 million this year- "We have launched new projects in Kuantan (Pahang) and Kemaman (Terengganu) this year- We expect to launch new projects in Sungai Buloh soon- But our priority now is to ensure that the 1Malaysia housing scheme for army personnel is a success," he said- ...

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