Parties affected by PSI project have one month to make an appeal

SHAH ALAM - Parties affected by Penang South Island Project (PSI) involving large-scale sea reclamation works, can make an appeal within 30 days.

Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the 30 days period starts from the date the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was issued.

"Affected parties still have a month to make an appeal starting from the date the EIA report was issued," he told Sinar today.

He said this to comment about some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who had opposed the project's approval.

In a letter dated April 11 to Penang government, the EIA for the project was approved by DOE with 71 conditions that need to be complied.

Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said several processes need to be completed first in addition to finishing the embankment work which will only start in the third quarter of this year.

The project involved developing three man-made islands with an area of 1,700 hectares on the coast of Permatang Damar Laut, near Bayan Lepas.

However, the approval was opposed by NGOs who said it was a cruel decision and the project would have a negative impact on the environment and the people in the area involved.

The Friends of Nature Activists Society (KUASA) chairman Hafizudin Nasarudin said the project would affect local fishermen's settlement areas and destroy marine life habitats.