NEW buildings in Penang are entitled for the development charges rebate if they achieve the required Green Building Index (GBI).
Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang stated that the council, in its attempt to reduce the Co2 emission in the air, has come up with the incentive programme.
“This is in line with the state’s motto of creating a cleaner and greener Penang. We first introduced this green initiative (GBI) in 2011 where we gave incentives to the developers who achieved platinum or gold status for their respective buildings.
“Hence today, we (Penang) have achieved third place in terms of GBI in Malaysia. GBI has four categories, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Certified.
“Whoever (developers) achieve Gold or Platinum GBI, a refund of two thirds from the development charges will be given to them in a duration of three years (one third of the development charges will be paid each year). For example, if the development fee is RM9 million, we will pay two thirds of it which is RM6 million to the developer in three years time.
“On top of that, to encourage them to sustain it, we will give a 10% rebate for their assessment fee,” said Yew after chairing the full council meeting at the City Hall today.
According to Yew, the GBI certificate is valid for three years where the cost of renewing the certificate will be borne by the council.
“The time line (new building) to get the certificate is until the end of 2021. After that, the rebate (development charges) will reduce from two thirds to one third.
“Apart from that, for the existing buildings that have achieved Gold or Platinum status for GBI they will receive 100% rebate for their assessment fee for the first three years and subsequently 10%,” added Yew.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi