THE state government has decided to increase the loan ceiling of the Individual Longhouse Loan Scheme from RM10,000 per door to RM15,000 per door in view of the increase of prices of construction material.

However, Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said there were no plans to increase the loan limit more than the maximum amount as this would reduce the number of applications benefitting from the scheme which has a limited annual allocation.

According to him, since the scheme was introduced in 1976, a total of 567 longhouses had been built and 13,105 doors upgraded through an allocation of RM87.6 million as of Oct 2014.

“This year alone, RM11.3 million have been approved for 34 longhouses comprising 753 doors under the longhouse reconstruction or upgrading programme which was implemented through the skim under the ‘Dana Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pinjaman Perumahan’,” he said in his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting yesterday.

In addition, Abang Johari said his ministry had also introduced a new financing concept for longhouses where the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) would be building longhouses on lands with individual titles to develop the rural areas of Sarawak

“The main focus of this programme is to improve the livelihood of our community in longhouses whereby the government will construct modern longhouses using quality and fire resistant materials while also include insurance coverage,” he said.

For a start, he pointed out that Rumah Collin Sait Ukel a 23-door longhouse in Bakong, Miri will be soon be developed using this new concept.

“This pilot project is expected to commence next year while the construction of longhouses bearing this new concept in other areas will be considered in stages and subjected to grants received from the federal government,” he added.