The availability of affordable housing in the fast-developing Iskandar Puteri area (formerly known as Nusajaya) near the Second Link in Johor has risen with keys started to be handed over to 351 home owners in Bayu Nusantara and handing over of eligibility certificates for the upcoming Denai Nusantara project.

The initiative by the Johor state government to ensure affordable housing amid higher value developments in the area had seen the participation of UEM Sunrise Bhd with the September 2014 launch of Bayu Nusantara – with the completed homes now being handed over to eligible residents less than two years later.

UEM Sunrise had also conducted the groundbreaking of Denai Nusantara – for 1,217 units – in November 2014. So far, 474 people have been listed as qualified buyers by the state government and continuous efforts are being made to identify those who are really deserve to buy.

Expected to be completed in 2017, Denai Nusantara will comprise five 12-storey blocks – for a total of 1,109 units with three bedrooms each within a built up area of 1,000 sq ft and priced at RM150,000 – plus 108 single-storey shoplots with a built up area of 1,200 sq ft and priced at RM200,000 each.

“UEM Sunrise has always been fully supportive of the Johor state government in ensuring home ownership by all segments of society,” said chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali in a statement.

“We are proud of the positive progress of affordable housing projects taking shape within Iskandar Puteri. This is definitely one step forward for us in helping to realise home ownership for citizens of Iskandar Puteri from all walks of life to own their own homes.”

Being on the first 20 homeowners getting their keys at Bayu Nusantara, Zainab Mohd Yasin, 57, a general worker at a government hospital in Johor is relieved as the family could now enjoy a comfortable home, after 37 years of living in government housing.