KUANTAN: The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) will choose the site for Lynas Corporation’s permanent disposal facility (PDF) to process water leach purification (WLP) residue.
State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Abdul Rahim Muda said once the site was identified, the federal government would make the official announcement.
In a text message today, he denied that Bukit Ketam had been chosen as the site, as announced by Lynas several days ago.
“Not finalised yet, still waiting for AELB to decide," he said.
On whether the federal government or Pahang government will be making the announcement on the new site once confirmed, he briefly replied "federal government".
The latest development will certainly raise eyebrows as Lynas secretary Andrew Arnold, in a statement on Jan 30, had announced that the state government had given its consent for the company to build a PDF site in the Bukit Ketam area here for its WLP residue.
He said Lynas Malaysia had appointed Gading Senggara Sdn Bhd (GSSB) as the contractor to manage the entire PDF project with an estimated total amount of US$98 million (RM400.7 million).
Yesterday, Kuantan member of parliament Fuziah Salleh, in voicing her concerns, said the Pahang government should be the one to announce details on the selected site and not Lynas.
She said the state government should take full responsibility and the move to remain silent could cause uneasiness among the people here.
Meanwhile, checks revealed that Bukit Ketam was located near the state's border with Terengganu, and the hilly area is surrounded by forest reserve and oil palm plantation.
It is learnt that there are no houses in the vicinity except for a rock quarry.
Last August, AELB said Lynas operation permit had been renewed for another six months and the plant must comply with three conditions imposed on them.
One of the conditions requires Lynas to identify a specific location to build a PDF and also obtain a written permission from the state government to use the location.
On Nov 19 last year, during the state assembly sitting. Abdul Rahim said the state government had received an application from Lynas on potential PDF sites and was scrutinising the suitability of the locations.
He said the application would also be referred to the related agencies including the AELB to examine the sites and obtain feedback from the experts.
The New Straits Times has contacted Lynas for comments on the matter.