GEORGE TOWN, Feb 22 ― The Jelutong landfill, which has been the bane of residents in its vicinity, will finally be closed down, rehabilitated, and turned into a 40ha mixed development site in a few years’ time.
Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang confirmed that the landfill will finally stop taking in construction and demolition waste after the Chinese New Year.
“It was supposed to be closed last year but it was extended to January and this time, it is the final extension; we will close the landfill for good after the festive season,” he said in an interview with Malay Mail.
The 20ha dumpsite was opened in the 1970s to receive municipal solid waste before it was turned into a site for bulk, garden, construction and demolition waste.
By 2010, the landfill was limited to accepting only construction and demolition waste but in 2015, the state government held a request for proposal (RFP) to rehabilitate the site and a contractor was awarded the project.
Over the years, the landfill has been a scourge to residents living nearby, especially when it caught fire, which would burn for days, causing smoke and ashes to intrude into the homes in the area.
The planned rehabilitation project, which was announced in 2015, was the residents’ only hope to finally be free from the smoke and the cloying stench of the landfill.
Unfortunately, the rehabilitation project was delayed for three years due to technical issues, according to state exco Phee Boon Poh.
In the past three years, the landfill often caught fire and despite efforts to put it out, the fire smouldered and continued for days that dragged into weeks.
Phee said the rehabilitation project is finally moving along and it included a comprehensive plan for mixed development and a public park on the site.
“We are now finalising the plans and we hope to get the final approvals from the state executive council before the plans can be implemented,” he said in an interview with Malay Mail.
The environment committee chairman said they still need to fine-tune the terms and conditions of the RFP agreement with the contractor and also the details of the project which he could not disclose since it is still pending approval.
He hoped the state executive council will be able to approve it after the Chinese New Year holiday.
Even after the approval, there is still a long way to go for the landfill to be rehabilitated.
Phee said there are about 14 million metric tonnes of waste on the site and this meant the contractor has to find ways to dispose of at least eight million metric tonnes of the waste.
Despite the landfill being designated only for construction and demolition waste, at least 30 per cent of the waste dumped there comprise domestic waste.
He said there has to be a plan to segregate the waste there and turn them into resources.
“Now the landfill can be rehabilitated and turned into an estimated 85 acres (34.4ha) of mixed development land, but we are looking at more than 100 acres (40ha),” he said.
While the end of the dumpsite is now near, the rehabilitation project still has a long way to go, with necessary approvals alone expected to take about a year.
“We need to get an Environmental Impact Assessment approval, get the Department of Environment clearance, get the terms of reference completed and then take a look at the whole design of the project,” Phee said.
Now that the proposed Penang Sky Cab ― a cable car project connecting Butterworth to Penang island ― will no longer be stationed near the dumpsite and the Karpal Singh Drive, Phee said there is more room for a more comprehensive plan.
The Sky Cab project developer, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), had proposed a new alignment for the cable car system to connect Butterworth to the Unesco world heritage site next to the ferry terminal early January.
The plan for the Jelutong rehabilitation project will include an extensive public park for recreational activities along with a mixed development project that include housing and commercial components.
