GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has obtained the green light from the Department of Environment (DOE) to implement the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, according to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
A faxed letter of approval for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the PSR project with 72 conditions was received yesterday afternoon, he said today.
“Of course we will like to have the official copy to be sent to us. At the moment we are still studying the content; it is quite a big document.
“I think maybe next week we will see each other again to talk further about the PSR approval,“ he told a press conference after the opening of Taiwan Expo 2019 here.
The PSR project involves the development of three man-made islands with a total size of 1,800 hectares. Parts of the islands would be put up for sale and the proceeds would be used to fund projects under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), which is aimed at solving traffic congestion on the state’s island side.
Chow said there were 72 conditions to be complied with, which was more than the previous EIA approval, and the state government needed time to study all the conditions.
“Our team will be working hard. When we implement the project we will comply with all these conditions and regulations imposed by the approving authority.
“All these conditions, I believe, are not new because in the process of application we had a session with the various technical agencies which imposed the conditions on the state government,” he added.
He said the state government was committed to complying with the conditions regardless of the expenditure involved. — Bernama
