GEORGE TOWN, July 10 — The Penang government will go through the conditions for the approval of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report before meeting affected fishermen to discuss the issue of compensation.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today said the meeting with the state’s fishermen association was planned to discuss compensation packages for the fishermen, which was among the conditions stipulated for the EIA approval.
He said the last meeting between the state government and the association was in May this year where the association had tabled its proposal for the compensation packages to be included in the EIA.
“They had acknowledged (during the last meeting that) in the event that the approval of the EIA report was granted, they have to accept the fact and will move into negotiation regarding the compensation.
“So, I see it is something positive in the sense that they are willing to talk about compensation other than opposing this project. But beyond that, it is now into mitigating the impact as what is contained in our EIA application,” he told reporters after officiating the 10th International Model United Nations Camp (IMUNC) at Chung Ling High School here.
Chow said a special task force, spearheaded by state Health, Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Rural Development Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin, would reach out to the Penang Fishermen Association to negotiate the compensation.
The PSR project involves the development of three man-made islands with a total size of over 1,800 hectares with parts of the islands to be put up for sale.
The proceeds from the sales would then be used to fund projects under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), a RM49 billion project aimed at solving traffic congestion on the state’s island side. — Bernama
