GEORGE TOWN, Feb 26 — The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has approved the appointment of an independent checker to vet through Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) reports for new development projects on the island. 

MBPP, through its full council meeting today, approved the appointment of Perunding Trafik Bakti Sdn Bhd, as an independent checker (IC) of TIA reports for the city council for a period of 12 months. 

Penang Island City Council Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said this is the first time that the city council has appointed an IC to vet through the TIA reports submitted by developers.

"The IC will assess the TIA reports and they will make recommendations on the report to MBPP before we make a final decision on the project,” he said during a press conference after the full council meeting. 

He said the main criteria in the appointment of the IC was that the consultant must not be a TIA consultant for any development projects on the island.

The IC will need to assess the TIA reports and submit a full report complete with its recommendations within two weeks from receiving the reports from MBPP. 

The IC’s job scope includes checking the data in the TIA report, verifying the traffic analysis that was conducted, evaluating the traffic simulation conducted and submitting a report on the TIA that was assessed.

The fees payable to the IC is based on the size of the development and range from RM5,000 up to RM20,000.