National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan was in the hot seat at Parliament Monday as he faced a barrage of questions over the effectiveness of a scheme to provide affordable housing to higher-income Singaporean households.
At least four Members of Parliament called for the Executive Condominium (EC) scheme to be reviewed following reports that property developers are selling oversized and overpriced units, and that owners are making a killing renting out their units.
MPs also questioned why some developers’ plans to build huge units going for $1-2 million apiece had been approved in the first place as that led to buyers with limited finances being priced-out of the scheme.
In response to why the oversized units were approved by planning authorities, Khaw said that “those were the planning rules of that time, but they have been fixed”.
He went on to defend the EC scheme, saying that four new measures announced two days ago would stop abuse and curb the problem.
Likening EC units to cars, Khaw said that the scheme has given Singaporeans a chance to buy a luxury “Lexus” at (Toyota) “Corolla” prices. Full story
Related:
