/// West Malaysia Property News
First Breakthrough for MRT
Project
More Propeties for Auction
extent, first time house
buyers will be able to buy
into properties,” he said.
The announcements on the
new real property gains tax
(RPGT) rates and banning
of the Developer Interest
Bearing Scheme (DIBS)
came during Budget 2014.
First breakthrough for MRT project
The ongoing
construction for the
Sungai Buloh-Kajang
Line within the Klang
Valley Mass Rapid
Transit (MRT) network
marked an important
milestone today after
the first of nine Tunnel
Boring Machines (TBM)
made the MRT project’s
first breakthrough at the
underground KL Sentral
Station worksite.
The machine involved
is an Earth Pressure
Balance TBM named
Semantan 1, which was
launched earlier at the
Semantan North Portal
on June 13.
The breakthrough
follows an excavation
of about 1.4km, boring
a 6m diameter tunnel
for trains that will head
north towards Sungai
Buloh.
The machine will now
undergo maintenance
works at the KL Sentral
Station worksite before
being relaunched for
tunnelling through to the
Pasar Seni worksite next
year.
They consist of four
Earth Pressure Balance
TBMs, which will be
used for the Kenny Hills
geological formation
and five Variable Density
TBMs for the Kuala
Lumpur Limestone
geological formation.
The underground works
contractor is MMC
Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn
Bhd.
Currently, seven TBMs
are operational for the
MRT Project at various
stages of tunnelling.
They are monitored
by personnel who
are stationed directly
above where the TBMs
excavate.
The first TBM was
launched by Prime
Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Tun Razak at the
Cochrane Launch Shaft
on May 30, indicating
the start of excavation
works.
A total of nine TBMs
will be used to bore the
tunnel for the 9.5km
underground alignment
of the Sungai BulohKajang MRT Line with
seven underground
stations.
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The ban on Developer
Interest Bearing Scheme
(DIBS) and the hike in real
property gains tax (RPGT)
rates is likely to result in
more property auctions in
2014, said National House
Buyers Association (HBA)
secretary-general Chang Kim
Loong.
“I will not be surprised
if there will be a lot of
properties for auction in
2014. A lot of people who
bought properties for
investment are now caught
out with RPGT and DIBS,”
he said.
“So it now depends on
your holding power. How
long can you hold on to
the property with the bank
interest when the developer
won’t be paying installments
for you anymore? By 2014
there should be a lot of
foreclosure cases,” he
added.
Chang said if there is a
slow down in the property
market, if buyers who
bought properties with
DIBS are not able to service
their loans and end up in
foreclosure, they would not
even be able to repay their
debts after the property is
auctioned off and banks
would not be able to recover
the full loan amount.
“Assuming there is a slow
down in the market, do you
think the bank will finance
100% of DIBS at RM600,000
for a unit that is actually
priced at RM500,000
without DIBS? The banks will
also not be able to recover
the RM600,000 (after the
property is auctioned off)
because they hiked it up
in such a way for interest
purpose,” he said.
“If the property’s real price
is at RM500,000 but was
purchased at RM600,000,
even after it is auctioned off,
the buyer would not be able
to clear his debt. He won’t
have enough