THE Penang Development Corporation (PDC), the project manager for the proposed Jelutong landfill rehabilitation and reclamation project, will review the details of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that was rejected by the Department of Environment Malaysia (DoE) before making any recommendations to the state government.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said PDC would first study the contents of the rejection letter before proposing the next course of action.
“Let them look at the issue first,” Chow said when asked about the matter today.
Responding to questions about the proposed project, which has also drawn strong opposition from residents and environmental groups, Chow said the project could still proceed under a different concept.
“But the landfill — I think residents are mainly talking about the reclamation. Even, I previously mentioned that if it were to be approved, it could be scaled down. However, the landfill itself still has to be dealt with.
“Nevertheless, let PDC study the matter first and make its recommendations,” he added.
Earlier reports stated that the DoE had rejected the EIA submission for the proposed rehabilitation of the closed Jelutong landfill and the reclamation of adjacent land.
According to the department’s online portal, which tracks the status of EIA submissions, the project has been classified as ‘not approved’.
The RM1 billion proposal involves excavating and rehabilitating the former landfill while reclaiming nearby coastal land north of the Penang Bridge. The reclaimed area is intended to temporarily store waste removed from the landfill before the site is eventually redeveloped into a mixed-development project.
The 65-hectare site comprises 36 hectares of landfill and 29 hectares of newly reclaimed land next to the Karpal Singh Drive waterfront.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix and video by Siew Chia En