BUKIT MERTAJAM: The company undertaking the proposed Jelutong landfill rehabilitation and reclamation project will not be allowed to proceed if it fails to secure Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval within a final deadline to be announced by the Penang government.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state would grant the company one last extension before making a final decision on the project, after previously approving five extensions to allow it to comply with additional requirements imposed by the Department of Environment (DOE).
"If the company is still unable to obtain the EIA within the stipulated period, there will be no further extension. In other words, if it fails to secure the EIA within that timeframe, the project will not proceed under the company," he told reporters after Jelajah CM Chow programme here at Permatang Kebun Sireh.
Chow said the state was still corresponding with the company, which had submitted its response, but declined to reveal the duration of the final extension, saying it would be announced later.
He said the company had been granted five extensions because it needed to meet the DOE's requirements, with new conditions imposed on several occasions.
"We were informed that additional conditions were introduced each time. Those were among the constraints faced by the company.
"However, after granting so many extensions, the time has come for us to make a decision. Some of the new conditions take time to fulfil and may not be easy to comply with," he said.
Chow said the state wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible, stressing that rehabilitation of the former landfill remained necessary regardless of the outcome.
Asked whether another company would be appointed if the current developer failed to meet the requirements, Chow said the state would consider alternatives if necessary.
"The rehabilitation works must be carried out. If the time comes, we will have to look at alternative options," he said.
The project has come under renewed public scrutiny following calls by Protect Karpal Singh Drive for the state government to halt the plan.
The proposed RM1bil project involves rehabilitating the former Jelutong landfill and reclaiming adjacent coastal land off Karpal Singh Drive.
The 34ha landfill, which operated for more than four decades before its closure, has long been regarded as one of Penang's most challenging environmental legacy sites.
The project was awarded to PLB Engineering Bhd under a joint development agreement signed in 2020 involving the Penang Development Corporation (PDC), the state government and the company.
