BATU KAWAN (April 29): The Penang government will begin the Penang South Islands (PSI) reclamation project after the environmental management plan (EMP) is approved by the Department of Environment (DOE).

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the approval process will take about two months, and the reclamation works are expected to start in the third quarter of this year.

“EMP approval is managed at the state level. But if the DOE feels that the EMP, which we will submit, is still incomplete, they can give us feedback, and we will revise and improve it until it complies [with the requirements]," he told reporters when met at the Batu Kawan Parliament constituency Aidilfitri open house on Saturday (April 29).

Chow was responding to a statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who said that environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval by the DOE was not in the final stage that would allow reclamation to take place on the suggested sites.

Chow, who is also the Batu Kawan Member of Parliament, said EIA approval is final with 71 conditions, and the state government is committed to complying with the stipulated conditions to ensure a smooth EMP approval process.

"We will present proposals on how to comply with the set conditions, and a series of technical meetings will be held for relevant agencies to give feedback to the report prepared by our consultants,” he said.

On Wednesday, Chow announced that the PSI project had obtained EIA approval from the Putrajaya DOE through a letter dated April 11. 

The approval was based on 71 conditions stipulated, including the implementation of the project’s social impact management plan.

The PSI is a project to develop three artificial islands, with an area of approximately 1,700 hectares in the waters of Permatang Damar Laut, near Bayan Lepas.

However, the project received objections from the fishing community and environmental non-governmental organisations in the state, because it allegedly would affect the marine ecosystem.