Come talk to us first, Penang CM tells G25 critical of its man-made islands project
GEORGE TOWN, Feb 17 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today invited civil society group G25 to a discussion so his government explain in detail its plan to build three artificial islands in the Straits of Melaka and assuage public concerns about the environmental impact.
He said the state is ready to engage with the group of prominent retired civil servants so that they can better understand the project.
“It is nothing new to us, a lot of people object without knowing the full details of the project and the tedious process we have undergone with various technical agencies,” he told reporters when asked about G25’s recent insistence that the federal government cancel the controversial project.
“We are open if G25 requires a meeting,” he added.
He said the state has continued to engage with stakeholders, including federal authorities who have asked about the ecological and environmental impact once the project is implemented.
“Last week, we presented it to the agriculture and food security minister because it involved fisheries and seafood production,” he said.
Chow gave an assurance all environmental and ecological impact will be addressed with proper solutions if the project gets the go-ahead.
“We will only start the project when we get approval and with approval, we can take mitigation steps,” he said.
The Penang South Islands (PSI) project is also known as the Penang South Reclamation (PSR).
The ambitious project is to create three artificial islands measuring 1,821-hectares off the southern coast of the main Penang island.
The project was first introduced back in 2015 as the funding module of the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) after SRS Consortium was appointed as the project delivery partner (PDP) for the PTMP on August 14, 2015.
Several civil society groups including the Persatuan Nelayan Pulau Pinang have repeatedly objected to this project despite the state government’s explanations, which found support with G25.
