Reclamation unlike carried out elsewhere
Published on: Friday, March 03, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: The reclamation of 220ha in the Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED) is minimal compared to the ones carried out in Penang and Johor. Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai in soothing environmental concerns over the project said that these reclamation also took into account the "cost and benefit" analysis. Yeo was referring to the ongoing reclamation works to make way for the LRT line called the Pan Island Link in Pulau Pinang and the development of Forest City in Johor Bahru.
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"In environmental evaluation there's a term called cost and benefit, whereby if the impact is more towards negative, these projects would not be carried out. "However, if the economic well-being overrides the negative impact and the negative impact can be overcome, then TAED will be implemented," he said. Yeo also pointed out reclamation work is being done around the world, adding that today, Singapore is now 30 per cent more than its original size and Jakarta is also planning to carry out a major reclamation involving 10,000 hectares all for the benefit of its people. Citing that City Hall was only the authority approving the TAED, Yeo said a difference in TAED compared to all these development was that it is a coastal development.
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Furthermore, various departments and agencies are also involved in the evaluation process before City Hall could arrive at a decision, he said. "Any decision (to approve the TAED) will be based on the evaluation of Department of Environment and Ports and Harbour Department on the sea current, the Drainage and Irrigation Department, the State and Federal Economic Planning Unit (EPU), which already obtained the facilitation fund from Public-Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) to carry out the evaluation," he said.
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