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Controversial Forest City project to know fate this week

KUALA LUMPUR — The developer of the controversial Forest City project in Johor will know the fate of its RM600 billion (S$226 billion) development by this week pending the decision of the Department of Environment (DEA) on the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report.

Reclamation work off the Strait of Johor for Malaysia's Forest City project. TODAY file photo

Reclamation work off the Strait of Johor for Malaysia's Forest City project. TODAY file photo

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KUALA LUMPUR — The developer of the controversial Forest City project in Johor will know the fate of its RM600 billion (S$226 billion) development by this week pending the decision of the Department of Environment (DEA) on the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report.

The New Straits Times reported that a panel of experts from various departments and academics who served as specialists in their respective fields, would discuss the impact of the project before making a decision.

Developed by Country Garden View Sdn Bhd, the biggest land reclamation project in the southern state had been suspended since June 16 following controversy over its massive reclamation works, environmental issues as well as concerns raised by nearby residents and neighbouring Singapore.

The Forest City project will see four man-made islands built in the waters in Tanjung Kupang between south-west Johor and north-west Singapore. It was reported that the islands would feature both residential and commercial lots.

The New Straits Times reported that following a diplomatic note from the republic, the DEIA was carried because the project was located near the Malaysia-Singapore borders and involved coastal reclamation.

The English daily said it was able to get hold of a copy of the DEIA report and revealed that installation of a “silt curtain” around the reclamation area was one of the measures proposed to mitigate sediment dispersion into neighbouring waters.

“However, despite the slew of mitigation measures to cushion the environmental impact, experts noted that more damage could be expected,” said the New Straits Times.

For example, the newspaper said the elongated strip of shallow water measuring 200m in width and 11.9km in length, between one of the four Forest City islands and the Tanjung Kupang coastline would be dredged and deepened to prevent sedimentation.

“Based on the hydrographic survey, most of the dredging will be done in areas with shallow water of less than 2m during low tide,” it said quoting the DEIA report.

It said Dr Nik & Associates Sdn Bhd, the company that prepared the DEIA report, had proposed the use of a cutter suction dredger with hopper barges for the dredging, and that the dredged materials, comprising mainly a mixture of sand, shale and clay, would be disposed of at Tanjung Balau in southeast Johor near Desaru, about 80 nautical miles (148km) away.

The dredged materials are expected to amount to 7.5 million cubic metres. The paper said because of the enormous amount of dredged material, the environmental impact could not be immediately known.

An EIA expert who declined to be named told the New Straits Times that the dredging would most likely “disturb or destroy” the flora and fauna on the seabed.

This tallied with the DEIA report, which noted that environmentally sensitive seagrass beds at Merambong and Tanjung Adang Shoals, considered very important in Peninsular Malaysia, are expected to be heavily impacted by the project as both seagrass beds are in the project site.

“The close proximity and very little buffer between the beds and the project site will render mitigation measures less effective,” the daily quoted the report as saying.

It also said the DEIA highlighted the need to remove a temporary 1.5km access road which connects the partially reclaimed island and the mainland to avoid further impact on the seagrass bed and allow better flow within the western Straits of Johor.

The project had initially been approved by the Johor Department of Environment in January but work at the project’s site was halted in June after the developer was instructed to submit a DEIA.

The project is being done off the coast of the Tanjung Kupang area where communities of fishermen and villagers make a living from sea produce and agriculture.

Fishermen and fish farm operators have said that mass fish deaths in the area had been caused by the land reclamation works. The developer has denied the reports. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

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