PSI mitigation, green initiatives and social welfare plan will control reclamation impact, assures PIC

Published by NewSTRAITSTimes • 15/5/2023

TThe Penang South Island (PSI) project is designed with the future in mind, and that means it must be adaptable to climate change and other challenges that may arise. – NSTP/MIKAIL ONG

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang South Island (PSI) project is designed with the future in mind, and that means it must be adaptable to climate change and other challenges that may arise.

That is why, according to the Penang Infrastructure Corporation (PIC), the PSI development is important to the state’s economy.

“The project does not spell the end for any group or community.

“It is a new beginning for Penang. It is a project that will give us the opportunity to build a better and more economically resilient future for the generations that come after us,” it said today.

“After eight years of effort put into obtaining the relevant approvals and designing the island, Penang also owes itself the responsibility to see this project through,” it added.

Yesterday, fishermen from southern Penang island, their family members and representatives from 20 non-governmental organisations held a protest at Pantai Sungai Batu against the PSI project.

They claimed it would not be the last protest they would organise as long as the reclamation project was on.

They also vowed to march to Parliament to submit a memorandum to the prime minister to say they rejected the project and other reclamation projects planned in the state.

They would also send the a copy of the memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Last Thursday, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Penang would do away with two of three artificial islands that would be reclaimed from the sea off Penang island’s south coast under the controversial PSI project.

He said this would mean a scaling down PSI to 49 per cent, as the largest of the three planned islands, Silicon Island, measured about 920ha while islands B and C, measured about 560ha and 320ha respectively.

During a recent visit to Penang, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the federal government would allocate additional funds to help the state government with the George Town-Bayan Lepas light rail transit (LRT) project.

He had also asked the state government to scale down the PSI project.

Following his announcement, Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman, Consumers’ Association of Penang president Mohideen Abdul Kader and Pen Mutiara had asked the state government to scrap the project and not just scale it down.

PIC, as the state government’s special purpose vehicle to implement the PSI project, also gave its assurance that the PSI project would not stop fishermen from fishing or threaten food security because the fishing zone for southern Penang island’s coastal fishermen was vast, up to eight nautical miles (14.8km) from the coastline.

It explained that the local fishermen would usually catch fish in areas located beyond the project site.

It said they received this information from local fishermen and verified this by conducting a physical boat count and by using satellite images that captured the movements of fishing boats in the southern Penang island waters.

“Claims by certain quarters that the PSI development will impact the local fisheries, fishermen and nearby states regrettably continue to be exaggerated.

“It is illogical to claim that the reclamation of a 920-hectare island would wipe out the whole area’s fisheries sector. The fish and shrimp will still be in the sea, and fishing will continue,” it added.

PIC also said that it was an exaggeration to say that a reclamation project in Penang waters would impact places as far as Kedah and Selangor.

It said mitigation measures would confine the impact to the project site based on the assessment provided in the approved Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

Based on the EIA report, the reclamation will be done in phases, which means the impact will only occur gradually and be controlled at the work site through continuous monitoring and careful implementation of mitigation measures such as perimeter bunds and silt curtains under the watchful eyes of the relevant authorities, namely the Department of Environment (DOE).

According to the PIC, the hydraulics study, which was approved by the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) last year, has shown that even without any rigorous implementation of mitigation measures, the sediment dispersion will be limited close to the reclaimed area.

The silt curtains will further prevent the dispersion of sediment.

“The PSI layout is also optimised to ensure minimum impact on the surrounding environment. Even so, we will closely monitor the situation when work is underway.

“Part of the approval was a condition by the DID to monitor the impact on the Penang island shoreline and report to the department periodically for action to be taken, if necessary.

“There will also be constant monitoring of water quality, including a 24-hour real-time monitoring of total suspended solids. The monitoring system will be linked to the DOE , which will closely monitor the reclamation works for enforcement.

“The Project Proponent has set the turbidity limit way below the limit set by DOE. If the turbidity reading approaches the set limit, work will stop for necessary actions to be taken.

“Mitigation measures will also be reviewed for continuous improvements,” it stressed.

Meanwhile, PIC said, to prevent the illegal dumping of sand or disposal of dredged materials, all work vessels and barges would be installed with the Dredging and Dumping Management System (DDMS), Weight Recording Equipment and Vessel Tracking Monitoring System with live tracking data.

As mentioned in the approved EIA report, sand will only be sourced from concessions with valid EIA approval and sand mining licence.

Currently, these proposed concessions are situated upwards by 30km away from the coast of Perak, which is more than double the distance from the stipulated eight nautical miles (14.8km) of artisanal fisheries’ zone.

They are in deep waters measuring at least 50m in depth where only 2m layer of sand will be mined, contrary to critics’ claim that the mining of sea sand will create massive holes in the seabed.

“Therefore, we stress that claims of the PSI project impacting the waters and coastline of southern Kedah, northern Perak and even Selangor are unfounded and without scientific basis,” it said.

PIC said the PSI project would also implementing the PSI Ecology Offset Masterplan (PEOM), aimed at minimising the impact on marine life and creating new habitats that boost the sustainability of the fisheries sector.

This includes planting mangroves, building eco-friendly shorelines, releasing fish and shrimp fries, deploying artificial reefs and fish aggregating devices, providing funds for marine-related research and others.

“Silicon Island will also feature a mangrove forest. We stress the importance of mangroves because they are good for carbon sequestration, which helps PSI achieve its carbon reduction goals.

“Detractors have also been attacking PSI for the carbon it would release, citing the National Physical Planning Council’s (NPPC) forecast in 2019 that PSI would emit 3.2 million tonnes of carbon annually. But they neglect to mention the NPPC’s recommendation for PSI to reduce carbon emissions by 40 per cent.

“Penang’s response to the NPPC’s advice was to have a Low-Carbon City Framework (LCCF) put in place for PSI to ensure its development would adhere to low-carbon principles. PSI’s city planning and the steps taken as part of the LCCF are implemented in the Urban Development Policy (UDP), which is now being drafted to make sure all measures are in place and in compliance with Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) policies to guide PSI development.

“PSI’s urban planning design, which includes various green initiatives like using renewable energy, green mobility and others, managed to exceed the prescribed NPPC target to hit 45 per cent,” it added.

PSI also assured that future cutting-edge technologies, including new sustainable designs and measures like the mandated Green Building Index (GBI) certification for individual plot developments, which looked at green building materials, energy and resource-efficient fittings and fixtures, greenery and design innovations, would aid PSI in achieving its carbon reduction commitment.