Five private developers have joined the bidding race to develop the first phase of low-cost houses on state land.
The Treasury Department has put five state land plots in three provinces up for grabs to develop the homes, director-general Chakkrit Parapuntakul said.
Project applications have been submitted by Glory Management Co (two plots in Phetchaburi province), Beijing Urban-Construction Yatai (Thai) Construction Group Co (two plots in Bangkok), PCC Post-Tension Co (a plot in Chiang Mai province), Supalai Plc (two plots in Bangkok and one in Chiang Mai), Areeya Property Plc (two plots in Bangkok) and subsidiary Areeya Management (a plot in Chiang Mai).
The government scheme, part of the Pracha Rat (People’s State) initiative, is aimed at helping eligible participants afford a 30-year lease or mortgage on a home to narrow economic disparity.
Low-cost homes are being developed on both state and private land, but prices must not exceed 1.5 million baht if they are on private land and must be lower if they are on state land.
The cheap homes to be developed on state land will be of two types: leasehold and rental.
Mr Chakkrit said the Treasury Department’s committee responsible for selecting companies to develop the five projects was expected to take around two weeks to pick the winners and construction would take no more than two years.
Those who win the bidding will be eligible to lease state land at one baht per square metre per month. They can also seek financing for project construction at cheap interest rates from the Government Savings Bank, GH Bank and Krungthai Bank.
The bidding winners have the right to lease state land for 30 years.
The two land plots in Bangkok — one behind the former site of the Royal Mint on Pradiphat Road and another on Phahon Yothin Road’s Soi Wat Phai Ton in Phaya Thai district — will be developed as condominiums. They will be rented under a five-year contract only to state officials whose monthly income does not exceed 20,000 baht. Rental rates will be capped at 4,000 baht a month.
Land in provincial areas can be developed into single detached houses, townhouses and condominiums.
Low-cost homes built on the Chiang Mai plot will be rented only to state officials, while the two plots in Phetchaburi will be offered to people under leasehold.
Under the scheme, a condominium unit must have at least 24 sq m of space, while houses must have an area of no less than 48 sq m.
For the cheap homes to be offered to people, project developers can propose to sell them to Dhanarak Asset Development, a unit under the Treasury Department.
Regarding bidding scores for projects under rental contracts, 20 marks each are weighted to the project’s value, construction plan and post-construction management plan and the remaining 40 to the project’s quality.
For leasehold projects, 20 marks each are given for the unit price, construction plan and post-construction management plan and the remaining 40 to the project’s quality.
Source: http://property.bangkokpost.com/news/1031405/five-firms-bid-to-build-low-cost-homes
