Penang will continue with hillslope development projects
GEORGE TOWN (Nov 13): The Penang Government will continue with the development projects on hillslopes, the State Legislative Assembly told today.
State Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the State government, however, will ensure that each developer and contractor will adhere to the prescribed conditions before commencing the development project in the area.
He said this when replying to a supplementary question from Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Noor (BN-Sungai Dua) who wanted to know if the Penang Government would continue with development on the hillslope despite recurring landslide incidents.
The latest landside tragedy took place on Oct 19 when nine foreign workers were killed while four others were injured in an incident at the Bukit Kukus paired road project at Paya Terubong.
Jagdeep Singh admitted with limited land area in Penang, the State government needs to find other alternatives to continue with development.
He also informed the Assembly that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study was not carried out for Bukit Kukus, Paya Terubong paired road project after it was given exemption by the Department of Environment (DOE).
However, Jagdeep Singh said, the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and the Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP) had been set up to ensure that the construction project will be implemented properly.
He said the Bukit Kukus paired road project involved proposed road construction of a total stretch of 5km, of which 800 metres to be built by Geo Valley Sdn Bhd, another 1.4km by PLB Land Sdn Bhd while the remaining stretch to be built by the Penang City Council (MBPP).
“The involvement of the two companies in this project is based on the development requirements imposed on both developers.
Jagdeep Singh said this in his reply to an oral question from Muhamad Yusoff who wanted to know if the State government had carried out a land survey and EIA study on the construction site of the proposed paired road and the involvement of three parties in the project.
Meanwhile, Ong Khan Lee (PKR-Kebun Bunga) proposed for the Federal Government to set up a Civil and Geotechnical Engineering Commission to monitor projects at high-risk locations across the country for landslides.
He said these high-risk projects required stringent monitoring and enforcement to ensure the implementation process would be carried out systematically, safely and legally.
“In view of the recent landslide at Bukit Kukus paired road project, I would like to propose for the Federal Government to set up this commission that will report to the State Legislative Assembly and the Dewan Rakyat.
“The commission should be headed by a building surveyor and comprise civil engineers and professionals qualified to issue stop work orders, mitigation, rectifications and so on,” he said when debating the State Supply (2019) Bill.
He said the commission would also be responsible for issuing guidelines and criteria needed especially in terms of carrying out certain studies for the project such as Social Impact Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment and Traffic Impact Assessment.
Source: TheEdgeMarkets