Controversial reclamation project in Johor Straits halted

JOHOR BARU — Malaysia’s Department of Environment (DOE) has issued a stop-work order on a massive reclamation project to create a housing development in the Straits of Johor near the Second Link, said a Johor state official.

“The order came about a week ago and all land reclamation work in the area has been suspended pending further studies on the environmental effects of the project,” State Health and Environment Committee chairman Ayub Rahmat was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times (NST) yesterday.

Singapore had earlier expressed concern about the possible transboundary impact from the reclamation work in the Straits of Johor and requested more information from the Malaysian government.

“We have asked the Malaysian authorities to provide more information so that we can undertake a study as soon as possible on the impact of this reclamation work on Singapore and the Straits. They have agreed to do so and we hope to receive the information soon,” said a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman on Saturday.

On Monday, the NST reported that the Johor government confirmed it had received a request from Putrajaya to furnish details on land reclamation projects in the state.

Malaysia media reports earlier said that Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also wrote to his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak about the issue, after two diplomatic notes on the matter were sent to Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry last month.

A third note was handed to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Mr Wahid Omar, when he visited Singapore recently, the reports said.

Mr Ayub told the NST that any negotiation on lifting the suspension on reclamation work for the development of the massive Forest City off Tanjung Kupang would be between the DOE and the project’s joint developers, China’s Country Garden Holdings and the state-owned Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor.

“We will wait for the department to complete its studies on the project, after which we will also ensure that all guidelines are met,” he said.

On the concerns raised by the Singapore Government, Mr Ayub said the state government valued the bilateral ties with its neighbour. “We will look into the issue of other transboundary effects because of the land-reclamation work,” the NST quoted him as saying.

The Forest City project involves creating a 1,817ha island almost three times the size of Ang Mo Kio and the construction of luxury homes. The project, which includes a 49ha tourist hub and recreational facilities, is expected to be completed in 30 years’ time.

The NST report said that reclamation work for the tourist hub began in early March and was expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Based on Malaysian regulations, projects that are larger than 50ha in size require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report before they can be approved.

However, The Malaysian Insider reported that, as of June 15, publicly available information on the DOE’s web portal showed that no EIA report was submitted either for the Forest City project or another 1,410ha reclamation project off Tanjung Piai, undertaken by Benalec Holdings for the purpose of building an industrial oil and gas hub. AGENCIES