Forest City reclamation work starts, developer says

KUALA LUMPUR — Reclamation work on the controversial Forest City project in Johor has restarted after eight months, with its developer saying yesterday that it had obtained approval from Malaysian authorities and had carefully looked at how to minimise any impact on the environment.

The developer, Country Garden Pacific View (CGPV), said the Malaysian Department of Environment had approved its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in January, and its Environmental Management Plan (EMP) last month.

“We are pleased to be able to ­recommence our work, and, with our proven track record and quality of delivery, we are confident that the project will be completed within our timeline,” said CGPV executive director Md Othman Yusof.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said that Singapore has recently received the EIA reports, and is studying them closely.

“As conveyed to Malaysia earlier, Singapore is concerned about the potential transboundary impact from Malaysia’s land reclamation projects in the Straits of Johor, given their close proximity to Singapore,” said the spokesman, who was responding to queries from TODAY.

Since May 2014, Singapore had requested for all relevant information regarding such reclamation projects in the Straits of Johor, including EIA reports, from Malaysia in accordance with its obligations under international law and in particular under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“Singapore has recently received the EIA reports for Forest City and R&F Princess Cove from Malaysia, and is studying the reports closely. We will work with Malaysia to address any potential transboundary impact on Singapore,” added the spokesman.

The R&F Princess Cove is a separate development project in Johor involving reclamation.

Forest City, an origiinally 1,978 hectares project, has been mired in controversy due to concerns from the local population, some of whom fish in the Johor Straits for a living. Locals had argued that the reclamation would lead to the loss of their land and livelihood. Local fishermen have blamed the ongoing reclamation works for mass fish deaths in the Johor straits recently. During a public dialogue on September 21 last year, residents accused developer CGPV of bulldozing the project through.

The project was reduced in size to 1,386 hectares after a hydraulic study forced the company to split the development into four islands to protect sea grass and other marine wildlife.

“At 1,978 hectares, we estimated it (gross development value) to be RM600 billion (S$225 billion). With the reduction of size by 30 per cent to 1,386 hectares now, the gross development value is around RM450 billion,” Mr Othman told the media yesterday (THURS).

The mixed-development project, which will include residential and commercial lots, is estimated to be completed in 2045.

CGPV said the company had voluntarily stopped its reclamation works earlier to conduct the EIA, in line with its commitment to preserve the environment and to ensure all mitigation measures were in place prior to the recommencement of work.

Mr Othman said that during the construction period, various environmental preservation, safety, health and environment related measures would be implemented according to their EMP to minimise inconvenience to the community and environment.

The measures, he said, included the installation of a double silt curtain and a daily water monitoring system to ensure no major or sustained anomalies were found in the water readings.

CGPV also defended the reclamation work, saying the project was further from Singapore’s maritime border than the Singapore’s own reclamation work in Tuas.

The Sultan of Johor Ibrahim Ismail spoke in defence of the project in an interview published on Wednesday, saying that it would benefit both Malaysians and Singaporeans who find housing in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore too expensive. The ruler added that reclamation was a strategic necessity for the state especially since Singapore has been reclaiming land as early as the 1820s while Johor has yet to do so.

CGPV is expected to make a profit of nearly RM290 billion over the next 30 years through the project.

The company is a 66 per cent - 34 per cent joint venture between China’s Country Garden Holdings Ltd and Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd, whose main shareholder is the Johor sultan. AGENCIES