There are many dilapidated buildings in George Town, 212 at last count, and a five-year plan is in the making to have them spick and span.

Old and decaying pre-war houses have become an eyesore in George Town but the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) is on the job to ensure all dilapidated buildings are restored in five years.

The council's building department director Patahiyah Ismail said a strategy plan had been drawn up to address the 212 crumbling buildings in the state's capital.

"According to a survey conducted by the department, there are a total of 212 dilapidated buildings in George Town until January this year.

"Out of this number, 42 buildings are in the heritage core zone and 60 buildings are located in the buffer zone," Patahiyah said yesterday.

Dilapidated houses along Jalan Khoo Sian Ewe in a time of their own.

She said buildings were classified as dilapidated if they were burnt, structurally unsafe or overrun by plants and bushes.

"Based on the strategy plan, the council will issue notices to dilapidated building owners under Section 82 of the Local Government Act 1976.

"In the notice, we will instruct them to do what is necessary be it to strengthen the building, set up hoarding or clear the overgrowth.

"Those who do not come forward or comply with these instructions will be asked to come forward to attend an inquiry session," Patahiyah said.

Owners of pre-war houses will soon be instructed to ensure that their buildings are safe and sound.

If there is still no action to restore the buildings, a second notice under Section 83 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 would be issued where the council could apply for a mandatory court order to carry out restoring or clearing work themselves and bill the owners.

"Over the whole period, the council will continue to monitor all houses in George Town as we expect more buildings to fall into disrepair over the years," Patahiyah said.

Although the plan may seem simple, Patahiyah and state Local Government and Traffic Management committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who chaired the press conference, concurred that many issues had to be taken into account.

"Decaying buildings have been a long-standing problem in the state dating back to the 1990s.

"When the Rent Control Act was repelled in 1997, the situation became more prominent.

"In 10% of the cases, MPPP is unable to trace the owner of the building and there are many other cases where owners are unable to afford restoration or repair works," Patahiyah said.

Chow said an added problem was restoration works in George Town had to adhere to heritage guidelines and were therefore more expensive than normal repairs.

"The state along with MPPP are looking into a multi-pronged approach to help these owners.

"Penang has applied to the Federal Government for a RM200mil soft loan to set up a fund to help these owners carry out repairs.

"Aside from that, we are also looking at private sector initiatives where companies can work out arrangements with house owners to lease the property for a number of years to conduct business in return for financing the repairs," Chow said.

Run-down shophouses on Lebuh Cina stick out like sore thumbs.

Patahiyah added that the council offered a number of incentives to these companies like waivers for parking bays or house assessment for a number of years. "We are currently working out all the details and procedures of the plan and if all goes well, the council should be able to approve it within a year," she said.