Penang South Islands scaled down to just one island

The Penang government has made the decision to scale down the Penang South Islands (PSI) project from three islands to only one. This move follows the announcement of additional funding from the Federal Government and a request from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to review and reduce the project’s scope.

In a recent press conference, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow unveiled the scaled-down version of the PSI project, with a reduction of 49%. As part of this revised plan, a single island, named Silicon Island, will be established, covering a substantial land area of 2,300 acres.

Downsizing of Penang South Islands

The implementation of Silicon Island will be done in two phases, with a total period of 10 to 15 years of reclamation works. The first phase of the implementation, about 1,300 acres in size, will include the LRT depot, which is expected to take approximately seven to ten years to complete. The second phase will involve the reclamation of an additional 1,000 acres.

Chow also revealed that the Land Public Transport Commission (APAD) has given conditional approval for the George Town-Bayan Lepas LRT project railway scheme. However, the full approval was withheld due to the initial proposal to build the LRT Depot on Silicon Island, which did not exist at the time.

To ensure the depot’s construction and avoid social impact on existing residents, the Penang government proposed building the depot on Silicon Island instead of the main island. The Penang government believes that finding vacant land for the depot after the Penang International Airport would be challenging.

Chow mentioned that previously APAD has expressed agreement regarding the placement of the LRT depot on Silicon Island. However, the full approval for the railway scheme was withheld at that time, awaiting the EIA approval of the PSI project. Given that the PSI project has now received the EIA approval from the Department of Environment (DoE), further discussions will be conducted with APAD.

Impact of downsizing

According to Chief Minister Chow, the master agreement between the Penang government and SRS Consortium stipulated separate agreements for implementing different components of the PSI project.

However, only the agreement for Island A (Silicon Island) has been signed thus far. No compensation is required from the Penang government to the SRS Consortium for the reduction of the PSI project to a single island.

Furthermore, Chow clarified that the approved Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the PSI project remains unaffected by the scaling-down process.

According to Chow, the number of directly affected fishermen from the Permatang Tepi Laut unit, situated in proximity to the Silicon Island reclamation site, will be significantly reduced to 115. This stands in contrast to the previous scenario where a total of 496 fishermen from four different units would have been affected if all three islands were to be developed.

Initially, the PSI reclamation project had the objective of developing three artificial islands, spanning a total of 4,500 acres, in the vicinity of the southern part of Penang Island. The primary purpose of this undertaking was to stimulate economic growth and urban development in the region.

Expressing his desire, Chief Minister Chow expressed hope that the upcoming technical meeting regarding the LRT project, involving the Finance and Transport Ministries, would include representatives from the state government.

He emphasized the importance of the Penang government’s participation in order to showcase the progress made and the challenges encountered thus far.

Chow highlighted that they have already received conditional approval for the railway scheme, along with the approval of their land acquisition plan. Currently, they have advanced to the stage of calling for tenders.

He further noted that their efforts align with the Prime Minister’s objective of expediting the LRT project in Penang.

Source: Buletin Mutiara