Penang executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said no reclamation work had begun as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study was not ready yet.
This reclamation involves the creation of three islands to finance the RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).
Under this plan, highways, a light-rail transit line and a monorail line will be built by the state government with the help of project delivery partner SRS Consortium.
“The minister can be rest assured we are closely sticking to our pledge to comply with all laws.
“Reclamation work will only start after the EIA has been obtained,” Chow said during a press conference at Komtar today.
Chow was responding to a Bernama story yesterday quoting Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar as implying the reclamation work had already started.
Junaidi said the Department of Environment (DoE) may issue a stop-work order on the reclamation as it had not received any EIA from SRS Consortium.
Chow said Junaidi was right in saying it did not receive any EIA.
Chow said the EIA would only submitted to DoE by the end of April, as scheduled.
He said the EIA would then be referred to the National Physical Planning Council (MPFN), chaired by the prime minister, for approval.
Chow said eight volumes of the EIA were being prepared. Those preparing it were in the final stages of “tying up loose ends”.
He said the EIA studies the impact on the environment, fisheries, community and traffic. It also studies water quality, landing of sea turtles and effects of a tsunami.
“We are complying with the conditions stipulated by the supervisory and working committees of the MPFN last year.
“We have also fulfilled the pre-condition set by the DoE by having a public dialogue on reclamation on Dec 17 at the Lexis Suites Hotel, which saw 853 attending.”
Chow also added the EIA for the LRT project would be handed over to federal authorities by May.
On a different note, the state government also announced former Penang Island City Council secretary Ang Aing Thye’s appointment as chief engineer of the PTMP Special Purpose Vehicle.
Ang will be assisted by another engineer, Darshini Raman.