PROPERTY developer Eastern and Oriental Bhd (E&O) has crossed one hurdle by getting the state authorities’ nod last week on the master plan for the second phase of its RM25 billion Seri Tanjung Pinang (STP2) project.
The company still requires approval to proceed with reclaiming 307.5ha of man-made islands (two islands separated by a canal) and 53ha of the Gurney Drive foreshore (which is required to be handed over to the state government, reportedly for infrastructure development of a new expressway, a new Gurney Drive Promenade and a public park).
The development of STP2 has been described by analysts as one with “deep development potential” and that will see E&O emerging as the largest land owner of prime seafront land in Penang at Gurney Drive.
Several public interest groups have raised concerns over the project and say they have submitted a 21-page report outlining their concerns and objections. The groups claim that no response was received.
Their concerns, among others, include the impact of land reclamation and pollution of coastal waters in the state.
They have also highlighted the cost of future dredging of the seabed (due to the impact of STP2’s land reclamation) that would run into millions of ringgit and this cost to be borne by the state government, and by extension, the people of Penang.
For its part, E&O has gone on record to say that a detailed environmental management plan will be developed with recommendations and conditions set by the Department of Environment.
Mindful that the livelihood of fishermen in the area could be affected by the proposed reclamation works, the company has acknowledged at the onset that direct monetary compensation to affected fishermen is a legal requirement and has already begun undertaking various approaches to understand and address the concerns and needs of the fishing community around STP2.
The federal and state authorities are currently in the process of determining the compensation amount and will advise E&O accordingly.
For their part, public interest groups need to be reminded that the project is not something new that popped up from nowhere and taken everyone by surprise.
To re-cap, the right to reclaim and develop STP2 is owned by Tanjung Pinang Development Sdn Bhd (TPD), a subsidiary of E&O and a company in which the state government holds a 21.2 per cent
stake.
In 1992, TPD won the right to reclaim and develop 396ha in Tanjong Tokong and has reclaimed some 97ha in Phase 1, which has seen the emergence of a millionaires’ enclave of residential homes, a commercial block and marina.
In April last year, E&O announced that it had received approval in principle to reclaim the balance concession area.
Civil society groups have remained quiet before this and did not even raise any objections when it was revealed last year during a public forum that the “extras” to the project now involves reclamation of the sea-fronting promenade Gurney Drive.
The fact that Gurney Drive will be reclaimed by 53ha and will push the island’s coast out by 80m to 100m, with E&O being told to reclaim
at its own cost and cede the land to the state, appears to be of no concern to the so-called public interest groups.
This really questions the sincerity of their intentions after remaining silent all these years in the face of countless public disclosures by the developer on the project.
To start making noise at this juncture is simply a waste of resources all around when the project and its repercussions are not even being viewed in its entirety.