PSR: PIC to submit new environmental management plan by June this year

Diterbitkan oleh New Straits Times • 21/05/2021 • 09:27 pm

PIC chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus hoped that the Department of Environment (DOE) could consider granting immediate approval for the EMP based on the existing guidelines. – NSTP File Pix

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Infrastructure Corporation Sdn Bhd (PIC) will submit a new Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project by early June 2021.

In a statement today, PIC chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus hoped that the Department of Environment (DOE) could consider granting immediate approval for the EMP based on the existing guidelines.

“There was an error because the original EMP for the project was submitted to the Putrajaya DOE on Jan 6 but it did not make any decision until we have to withdraw the application in order to submit a new one.

“As the original EMP was submitted on Jan 6 and the delayed in its approval, I was wrong on the proposed start date for the project,” he said in response to a statement by DOE director-general Norlin Jaafar yesterday.

According to yesterday’s news report, Norlin said it was inaccurate to say that the department would consider the EMP application at the end of the month as it had not received the EMP based on the original order in line with the concept of the PSR project.

She said PIC’s partner, the SRS Consortium had submitted an EMP report to the Penang DOE, but it did not follow the original order of reclamation as in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report which was approved on June 25, 2019.

The implementation of the PSR project, covering an area of almost 17 sq km, involves the development of three man-made islands at the Permatang Damar Laut waters near Bayan Lepas, to create a land bank to fund the Penang Transport Master Plan worth RM46 billion. – Bernama