JOHOR BARU: The developers of the controversial Forest City project will start reclaiming land after the Chinese New Year holidays following the greenlight given last month by the Department of Environment (DoE).
Country Garden PacificView Sdn Bhd (CGPV), the master developer for the project, will commence work on the mega-project with a particular emphasis on conserving the surrounding areas environment.
CGPV executive director Datuk Md Othman Yusof said the developers will start by maintaining the Merambong seagrass bed which will be located in between the four linked islands of Forest City.
"We will allocate about RM3.5 million to maintain and conserve the seagrass bed as part of the project," he said at a luncheon held at Country Garden Danga Bay here today.
In addition to that, Othman added that the developers will also be replanting mangrove trees along the coastal area as part of its environmental commitment of the area.
"These are all part of our initiative to maintain and nature the surrounding environment together with the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report that has been approved by the DoE.
It is learnt that CGPV had embarked on such an initiative to minimise or mitigate environmental impacts through integrated and workable solutions.
Othman said all compliance monitoring, in terms of air, noise, water quality and sediment, will be seriously implemented and carried out.
"This is one of our immediate priorities to minimise the impact and ensure that the surrounding ecology are well preserved," he said.
Forest City is a cluster of four reclaimed islands, the biggest measuring 1,005ha, while the smallest is 58ha.