THE Penang government must comply with all 72 conditions imposed by the Department of Environment (DoE) in the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (PH-Padang Kota) stressed.
Chow said the DoE was responsible to monitor and to ensure that the conditions are met by the state’s project deliver partner (PDP) SRS Consortium.
“Since the beginning, we have kept to our word not to go ahead with the project until we have obtained the required approvals.
“We will make sure that we comply with the 72 conditions imposed, now that we have obtained the (conditional) approval,” Chow responding to a supplementary question by Opposition Leader Datuk Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Nor (BN-Sungai Dua) at the State Legislative Assembly in Dewan Sri Pinang today.
Chow said that there were several conditions, such as the preparation of an Environment Management Plan (EMP), which have to be complied prior to the implementation of the project.
“Some will have to be complied during the implementation of the project such as to monitor noise, water and air quality; which include implementing control measures and preparing monitoring reports.
“SRS Consortium had prepared an extensive EIA report which costs about RM3 million. The cost was borne by SRS Consortium and they will be reimbursed by the state government after the signing of the Project Delivery Partner Agreement,” Chow said.
He also said that there were pros and cons in any project.
“For example, we are using the Dewan Sri Pinang temporarily to hold the State Legislative Assembly.
“We have a huge space to hold this assembly, the dining area and the media area are big and there are many toilet facilities. Those are the pros.
“However, because of the State Legislative Assembly, other associations are unable to use the Dewan Sri Pinang to hold their programmes during this period.
“For us to get a clear view of a situation, we need to look at both sides – the pros and the cons,” he said.
Chow said that the PSR project could generate the state’s economic growth for the next 50 years.
“Economic development of Penang has to go on and we are of the view that the state’s economy can continue grow through the PSR,” he said.
Chow said that although the PSR project could have a negative impact on the ecosystem and the livelihood of fishermen, various measures had been proposed to mitigate the impact.
“The Social Impact Assessment, Fisheries Impact Assessment and Marine Risk Assessment reports had been prepared. The project consultant had also proposed solutions to mitigate the impact.
“The proposals had also undergone technical evaluation from the various departments prior to the conditional approval from the DoE,” Chow added.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis and Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi
Video by Chan Kok Kuan