Chow: PSI reclamation expected to start in Q3 after DOE approval

BATU KAWAN: The Penang state government will begin the Penang South Islands (PSI) reclamation project after the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is approved by the Environment Department (DOE).

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the approval will take about two months, and the reclamation work is expected to start in the third quarter of this year.

“The EMP approval is managed at the state level. But if the DOE feels that the EMP, which we will submit, is still incomplete, it can give us feedback, and we will revise and improve it until it is compliant,” he told Bernama when met at the Batu Kawan Parliament constituency Aidilfitri open house yesterday.

Chow was responding to a statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who said the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) approval by the DOE was not the final stage that would allow reclamation to take place at the proposed site.

Chow, who is also Batu Kawan MP, said the EIA approval is final with 71 conditions, and the state government was committed to complying with the stipulated conditions to ensure a smooth EMP approval process.

“We will present proposals on how to comply with the conditions and a series of technical meetings will be held for relevant agencies to give feedback for the report prepared by our consultants.”On April 26, Chow announced that the PSI project had obtained its EIA approval from the national DOE headquarters in Putrajaya through a letter dated April 11.

The approval was based on 71 conditions, including the implementation of the project’s Social Impact Management Plan.

PSI is a project to develop three artificial islands with a combined area of approximately 1,800ha in the waters off Permatang Damar Laut, near Bayan Lepas.

The project received objections from some segments of the traditional fishing community and non-governmental organisations because it would allegedly affect the marine ecosystem negatively.