GEORGE TOWN, April 26 – The Penang South Islands (PSI) project is expected to start in the third quarter of this year, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today in the Press Conference which was held in Komtar, Penang after given the final approval by Department of Environment (DoE) in Putrajaya. Chow said the approval was given by the natural resources, environment and climate change ministry with 71 conditions under an elaborate environmental management plan. “The approval was received officially in a letter dated April 11,” he said.
“It must also be stressed that all reclamation work would begin once the environmental management plan is given the approval,” he told reporters at Komtar today. The project previously received fierce opposition from fishermen, environmentalists and the G25 group of prominent retired civil servants over concerns that it would adversely affect marine life. With the EIA approval, the state government, through the project delivery partner, is now in the process of applying for approval for the environmental management plan from DoE Penang,” he said.
