The first green condominium project on the Penang Mainland, the River Tropics in Seberang Jaya, just received the Green Mark of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) on top of the GreenRE Gold certification from Real Estate and Housing Developers Association. The project is developed by New Bob Group.
D
r Lee Ville, the New Bob Group Director, said that the building would have all the green building technologies installed and is designed to minimize the impact on the environment.The windows in all 148 units of the building will be installed in such a way that it can maximize the natural light coming in and will use non-volatile organic compounds as paint. By consuming less energy usage and saving more water, residents are able to spend less money.
In conjunction with the River Tropics’ ceremony, Jagdeep Singh Deo, the Chairman of State Housing Committee, said that the state is looking for more ways to give the green building developers rewards, particularly on the mainland.
According to Jaagdeep Singh Deo, the reward would encourage developers to embrace the Green Building Index (GBI) and other international green ratings. He added that if a developer receives a GBI rating of gold and above, the Penang Island City Council will give back two-thirds of the development charges to the developer after construction is completed.
The refund could amount to several million and this can drive more developers to go green. However, there’s no incentive for buildings on the mainland as of yet and now there has been several other projects that have been rewarded green ratings other than GBI.
