By Story & photo by GEETHA KRISHNAN | Dec 12, 2009
Access road to bypass abandoned housing project
TRAFFIC crawls caused by funeral processions may be a thing of the past along Jalan Sungai Lalang in Semenyih, Selangor.
If the proposal to build an access road bypassing the village route is met with success, Kampung Sungai Lalang, Kampung Sungai Tanjung and Kampung Pasir Baru villagers are bound to leap for joy.
Corteges regularly use the road to access the Semenyih Memorial Hills, thus causing traffic snarls. For the record, the road is only meant for two-way traffic and the volume of lorries can be heavy.
However, there is a downside to the access road proposal, cautioned Kajang Municipal councillor Shamsol Bahari during a recent visit to the site.
“The authorities have suggested that the road be built through the Bandar Puncak Damai township. They hope to build a 5km road providing access to Jalan Sungai Lalang from the Silk Highway but the distance is longer,” he said.
“And, are they aware that the township has been abandoned since 1999 and its developer Duta Nilai Sdn Bhd is under receivership. If the authorities intend to go ahead with the access road, will the project then be revived?” he asked.
Bandar Puncak Damai is listed on the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s website as one of the abandoned housing projects in Selangor. However no update on the project status was available.
Meant for mixed development, the 160ha township is located off KM20 Jalan Sungai Lalang. Work stalled on the project when it was barely 20% complete, leaving many buyers especially those in the middle-income bracket in a quandary.
At the site, all was quiet with the distant drone of machines working on nearby developments. Several uncompleted structures stood in sections of the township. Vandals had long stripped some of the metal protrusions bare.
Kampung Pasir Baru village head Arif Bujang said the proposed project should only take off if the buyers were offered solutions in monetary terms, provided units elsewhere or if the stalled project was revived.
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