KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — The Department of Environment (DoE) today said that the Penang government does not need to submit a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) application regarding the Penang South Islands (PSI) project.
The DoE told New Straits Times said that the Penang government needed to submit its most current implementation proposal information.
“As such, there is no need for a new EIA to be submitted.
“However, there is a need to submit the latest implementation proposal information to the DoE as required in the conditions of approval of the EIA report,” it was quoted as saying.
On Thursday, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said at a press conference that the three-island reclamation project will be reduced to one island.
Chow said the planned Islands B and C will be shelved and the scope of the project has been reduced by 49 per cent from 4,500 acres to 2,300 acres.
“Only island A, called Silicon Island measuring 2,300 acres, will be reclaimed in two phases involving 10 to 15 years of reclamation works,” he said.
He said the decision to scale down the project was made after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim asked for the project to be scaled down.
After that, non-governmental organisation (NGO) Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) called for the government to scrap the project entirely.
Its president Meenakshi Raman said it is still unacceptable that the state is going ahead to reclaim 2,300 acres (930 hectares) to create one island.
She said that the project will disturb the fishery spawning grounds, which will affect fishermen along the Penang, Kedah and Perak waters.
