Controversial Johor project to be scaled down, says report

The RM600 billion mixed-development Forest City project in Johor will be scaled down by 30% following the green light by the Department of Environment (DOE) to the developer, The Star reported today.

Initially planned to cover 1,978 ha, the project, which was suspended for about six months over environmental concerns, has been scaled down by about 610 ha. The new site reportedly covers about 1,368 ha.

DOE approved the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) on January 9.

Johor Health and Environment executive committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat, who confirmed that the project has been given the nod to resume, said he hoped that the developer would fulfil the conditions attached to the approval.

However, he could not state the conditions, saying that he had yet to read the contents of the report.

“There are conditions which come with the approval and I hope the developer will fulfil all these conditions,” he was quoted by The Star.

The Forest City project will see four man-made islands built in the waters in Tanjung Kupang between south-west Johor and north-west of Singapore, and will include residential and commercial lots.

Yesterday, Country Garden Pacific View (CGPV) executive director, Datuk Md. Othman said the project was "consistent with the government's vision as outlined in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP)".

CGPV is a 66-34% joint-venture between China’s Country Garden Holdings Ltd and Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd, whose main shareholder is the Sultan of Johor.

Johor state company Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) is also a partner in the project.

It was reported last year that Singapore protested the project, due to its location near the Malaysia-Singapore border and the coastal reclamation work involved.

The project had initially been approved by the Johor DOE in January 2014, but work was halted in June after the developer was instructed to submit a DEIA.

The project is being done off the coast where fishing communities and villages make a living from sea produce and agriculture in the Tanjung Kupang area.

Fishermen and fish farm operators have blamed mass fish deaths in the area on the land reclamation works, but the developer denied it.

A public hearing between the communities and the developer held in September last year as one of the conditions in the DEIA saw angry residents protesting, saying it would take away their livelihoods.

The company said out of 100 heads of households surveyed on the project, nearly 70% agreed while 71.3% thought it had more positive than negative impact.

Md Othman said yesterday the project would diversify incomes and improve the quality of life of the locals.

Workshops and training would be provided, he had said, as well as infrastructure such as a new access road and water reticulation systems.

The project would also benefit locals by bringing investments into the area through an "investment corridor", he added.

He had also assured that the company would work closely with all stakeholders and regulatory authorities to ensure the needs of the communities as well as the environment were met.

The New Straits Times (NST), citing the DEIA report last December, said the company that prepared the report had warned about the dredging and sedimentation caused by the project that would impact the seabed.

The paper had said that despite the mitigation measures to cushion the environmental impact, including the use of a "silt curtain" around the reclamation area, "experts noted that more damage could be expected," it reported.

The dredged material, mainly a mixture of sand, shale and clay, is said to amount to 7.5 million cubic metres and would be dumped at Tanjung Balau in southeast Johor near Desaru, about 80 nautical miles away.

Due to the huge amount, the environmental impact on the sea after it is dumped would not be immediately known.

NST also quoted an unnamed EIA expert name as saying 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 the presence of sensitive seagrass beds at Merambong and Tanjung Adang shoals.

“The close proximity and very little buffer between the beds and the project site will render mitigation measures to be less effective,” the daily said, citing the report. – January 15, 2015.