Land reclamation project could put coastal areas in danger, says expert

GEORGE TOWN: Rising sea levels could put land reclamation in danger if there are no provisions to increase the levels of artificial islands above the current sea level.

According to maritime sociologist Prof Emeritus Dr Han-Dieter Evers of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Institute of Malaysian and International Studies rising sea levels would put any reclamation project in danger.

"There are many predictions that sea levels would rise by 6m in the future.

"This is probably a worse case scenario of 10% probability, but the pace of rising sea levels has accelerated over the years.

"These will put coastal areas in danger, and any development on such land will bring water flooding into inland areas and make roads inaccessible," he said during his talk on "Climate Change and sea level rise – Impacts on Penang" at the Penang Heritage Trust yesterday.

Commenting on the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, which just received a conditional Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report approval, Dr Evers said sand mining for the project would be at the expense of other states such as Perak, Kedah and Perlis.

"The sand mining for higher artificial land will make the shores along these states vulnerable to rising sea water which could create a negative impact.

The PSR project near Teluk Kumbar is a massive plan to reclaim three islands, measuring 1,800ha or the size of 3,600 football fields.

About 75% of the three islands will be for sale via open tender.

The project is expected to generate RM70bil, of which RM46bil will be used to fund the Penang Transport Master Plan.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow will be leading a delegation to Tokyo to gain insight on the establishment and operation of a metro rail line and smart city planning from July 20 to 24.

He will be accompanied by state works committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari, state Works Department director Shahabuddin Mohd Muhayidin and state Economic Planning Unit representatives.

Among the key Japanese players that have been scheduled to share their know-how with the Chief Minister and his delegations are various metro rail operators, rail technology providers, smart city developers, funding entities and authority bodies involved in infrastructure development.

"The state of Penang can only improve further economically, environmentally and sustainbly by learning from the experts, looking ahead and making bold decisions for the future," said Chow in a statement.

The state recently received a conditional approval from the Transport Ministry for the Light Rail Transit from Bayan Lepas to Komtar.