MK LAND Holdings Bhd's subsidiary MK Development Sdn Bhd has completed the 1st phase of its Bandar Lembah Beriah project that has a sales value of RM48mil.

Work began in May 2000, comprising 400 low-cost houses, 251 medium-cost houses and 45 shops.

According to MK Land chief operating officer K. Mohanachandran, all the low and medium-cost houses, as well as 17 shops, had been sold.

''About 100 families have moved into the housing scheme,'' Moha-nachandran said at a ceremony on Sunday to hand over the keys for the medium-cost houses by Deputy Home Minister and Bagan Serai MP Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin.

Located on a 1,162ha site in Alor Pongsu near Bagan Serai, Bandar Lembah Beriah is a mixed development scheme under a privatisation programme between MK Develop-ment and the Perak government to enhance the economic growth of the Kerian district.

Other components of the project are bungalows selling at RM170,306 each, single-storey semi-detached houses (RM106,000) and vacant lots at RM67,000 per 334 sq m.

Earlier, when briefing Zainal on the progress of the development scheme, Mohanachandran said that the company was reviewing its original plan of allocating 51% of the scheme's area for industrial use.

''Our attempt to attract industries has failed as the peat soil here is unsuitable for such activities,'' Mohanachandran said.

He said that this was pointed out by a Swedish paper-manufacturing company which had initially ex-pressed interest to set up a plant there.

''The Swedish company refused to move in, reasoning that the saggy nature of the peat soil here is unsuitable to accommodate heavy ma-chineries. Therefore, we have now decided to lure agriculture-based or information technology-based projects to come here,'' said he.

Mohanachandran said, however, that the setback could be checked if the federal government could hasten the plan to build a new interchange along the Alor Pongsu stretch of the North South Express-way for easier access to the scheme.

Perak State Economic Planning Unit director Ahmad Konchong, who was also present at the briefing, said that the new interchange, costing about RM40mil, had been approved by the federal government under the 8th Malaysia Plan.

Source : The Star  29/3/2003