KUCHING: The Sarawak state government will take over a stalled housing project to solve the problems faced by affected house buyers, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

       The Sarawak Premier said he was aware of the project situation and had given a warning to the developer.

       However, he said the state government would only take over the project once the legal issues involved are resolved.

       "This is because the developer is a public-listed company," he told reporters at a Hari Raya gathering here on Thursday (May 5), adding that he did not think the developer could continue with the project.

       The project, which commenced in 2018, is part of a private mixed development project in Petra Jaya here consisting of a water theme park, convention centre, serviced apartments and housing, including affordable homes.

       Meanwhile, a group of the affected house buyers hosted a Raya open house at the project site on Thursday (May 5) to highlight their unfinished homes.

       The group's representative, Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid, said they received a letter from the developer last September promising to finish the homes within a year after restarting work in the fourth quarter of last year.

       "There has been no news or progress since then," he was reported as saying, adding that most of the buyers were civil servants who had begun paying their housing loan instalments.