His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday presented mock keys to 601 new homeowners, bringing the number of citizens granted homes under the National Housing Scheme (RPN) and Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme (STKRJ) to 28,216 since the 1980s.
Out of the new homeowners presented with keys yesterday, 301 were recipients of cluster house units and 53 received terrace house units in the Bukit Beruang National Housing Scheme, Tutong.
In the Belait district, 247 received keys to terrace homes in Lumut and Lorong Tengah Setia National Housing Scheme.
According to government data, the majority of government-subsidised housing units are in Brunei-Muara (18,840) followed by Belait (6,585 units); Tutong (2,979 units) and Temburong (635 units).
So far, 28,216 homes have been granted to citizens under RPN and STKRJ, which are two government schemes designed to provide affordable housing for Bruneians.
In the 2017/2018 fiscal year, the budget allocated for RPN was $34.5 million.
The latest development in RPN is the 49-hectare Bukit Beruang National Housing scheme, a comprehensive housing development that provides ample space for the future construction schools, mosques, commercial facilities, community centres, parks and recreational areas.
The housing area has 530 detached houses, 368 cluster houses and 1,388 terrace houses. Apart from the difference in size — 120 square metres for a cluster unit and 106 square metres for a terrace unit — each home has three bedrooms with a living room, bathroom and kitchen.
After the handover ceremony, His Majesty visited the Tumpuan Telisai Primary School and Tutong Sixth Form Centre to inspect the development and progress of the students.
Beginning operations in 2012, the district’s first dedicated sixth-form centre has 63 teaching staff and 325 students, and was built at a cost of $23 million.
At Tumpuan Telisai Primary School, the monarch paid a visit to the preschool classrooms to meet with special needs pupils. Founded in 1940 , the school began operations with just 40 pupils. It now has grown to 213 pupils studying in preschool to Year Six.
His Majesty also went down to meet the residents of Mukim Telisai, including Tutong’s Legislative Council representative YB Hj Ramli Hj Lahit.
Mukim Telisai is home to more than 10,000 people, including residents of the Bukit Beruang National Housing Scheme.
The sultan ended his tour of Tutong with a visit to Golden Corporation Sdn Bhd, a Taiwanese company that set up Brunei’s first seafood processing plant in 2012. With plans to be the world’s largest exporter of blue shrimp, the $30 million centre includes a large aquaculture farm that produces up to 3,000 metric tonnes of blue shrimp a year.
This story was last updated on Feb 21, 2018 at 1.08pm