GEORGE TOWN: As long as Penang is able to meet the 18 conditions set by the National Physical Planning Council (NPPC) on the implementation of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, the project is good to go.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow stood by his statement yesterday that the NPPC had given its approval for the project, once the 18 conditions are met.
This was despite Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad saying earlier in the day that the NPPC had not given the go-ahead for the controversial reclamation project.
Chow explained that it was not the NPPC’s role to issue approval, but merely to advise the federal and state governments on matters regarding town and country planning.
“As I said yesterday (in my statement), the NPPC had agreed with the implementation of the PSR project, provided the 18-point advice was fulfilled.
“In essence, we have submitted the PSR project to the NPPC for consideration and it had given its advice before the project implementation.
“So, in layman’s terms, if we are able to meet the 18-point advice, then we can go ahead with the project. And until and unless we obtain the necessary technical approvals, no work can be done.
“That has always been part of our DNA,” he told reporters at his office.
Chow said, with receipt of the conditions to be complied with, the Penang government and project delivery partner SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd would work on the second stage, which was the design and the financial architecture, particularly the financial model and the revenue to be generated from the project.
He said it would take about a year or two for the state and SPS Consortium to get the paperwork done and the technical approvals completed before the project could begin.
“Therefore, any speculation that the reclamation will (definitely) begin next year is not true.
“It is subject to how well we comply with the 18-point requirement,” he added.
Asked whether his explanation was contrary to that of Khalid, Chow said there was no dispute.
“We will wait for the official minutes of the NPPC meeting yesterday,” he noted.
To a question of whether the state needed to refer back to the NPPC once the 18 conditions had been met, Chow said that was not necessary.
“We just need to obtain the approvals of government departments such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report from the Department of Environment and others,” he said.
On the progress of the EIA report, Chow revealed that the first report which was submitted was rejected due to the rejection of the Fisheries Impact Assessment (FIA) report.
“Since then, we have worked closely with the Fisheries Department to come up with mitigating measures.
“We submitted a fresh EIA report in February this year and they have been told to put up the report for public display for a month beginning April 29 to gather feedback, which we will be doing.
“Details of the public display will be put up in the local newspapers.”
Asked whether further delays on the implementation of the project would result in the cost escalating, Chow said some things were beyond their control, pointing out that the state government had waited for three long years before it was able to present the PSR project to the NPPC.
Pressed on the state’s application for a RM1 billion loan from the Federal Government for the project, he said the matter was pending further discussion.
In a brief statement yesterday, Chow said the NPPC had given the go-ahead for the implementation of the PSR project, which would see the creation of three manmade islands to fund the state’s Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).
Chow, who attended the NPPC meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had said that the NPPC had considered Penang’s plan for the proposed PSR and had agreed to its implementation, with 18 conditions.
Khalid issued a statement earlier today, saying that the NPPC had not given its approval, but had merely given the Penang government 18 conditions to consider.
He had said that the PSR project also needed EIA and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) approvals from the relevant agencies.
Earlier, Chow made public the 18-point advice, which included a policy banning the construction of condominiums priced above RM1 million.
At least 30 per cent of the houses built will be affordable housing.
He also said the state’s priority was to expand the Penang International Airport to one of the reclaimed islands and to build a high-tech industrial hub.
Chow added that the state planned to connect all three islands with light-rail transit (LRT) and trams, to ensure first- and last-mile connectivity.
Also, the islands would have a 70:30 ratio of public transport vehicles to private vehicles, to negate 3.2 million tonnes of carbon emissions and 10 to 14 per cent of open space for recreational activities
The reclaimed islands, with a total land area of 1,800ha, would be used to fund the state government’s highly-ambitious RM46 billion PTMP project.
The PTMP project, which was announced in 2015, comprises a light-rail transit (LRT) system, an undersea tunnel and three paired highways.
Environmentalists and the fishing community had opposed the PSR, saying it would adversely impact fishermen’s livelihoods and the marine ecosystem in the southern part of the island.
They had staged numerous protests over the years.
This is the second time this week that the state government has received the approval of the authorities for its projects.
On Monday, Chow had announced that the Department of Environment had granted conditional approval for the EIA report of the proposed Pan Island Link 1 (PIL 1), a component of the PTMP.
He had said that the state government considered the approval a major milestone, as the project could now move forward.
The PIL 1, too, had met widespread opposition from environmental non-governmental organisations.