Compliance was being done on tunnel, says exco man

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government obtained conditional approval from the Department of Environment (DoE) on Nov 7 last year for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the three major roads project, said state exco member Chow Kon Yeow.

He said the proposed Penang undersea tunnel project was one of the component packages under the Major Roads and Tunnel Project in Penang.

“The 7.2km proposed tunnel, which connects Persiaran Gurney on the island to Bagan Ajam on the mainland, was undergoing the feasibility study process with a completion status of 95.9% as of December 2017.

“Upon completion of the feasibility study and if the state government decides to go ahead with the project, an EIA will be carried out and the outcome of the report presented to the DoE for evaluation and approval accordingly,” he told a press conference in Komtar here yesterday.

Chow was responding to a statement by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who said his ministry was not officially notified of the proposed Penang undersea tunnel project.

According to Dr Wan Junaidi, whatever information the ministry had gathered had been through the media.

Chow also questioned why certain Barisan Nasional leaders were “interfering” with the ongoing investigations by the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC).

“Let the MACC do its job by calling in and questioning those it deems necessary,” he said.

In Dr Wan Junaidi’s statement on Monday, he urged the Penang government to comply with all stipulated regulations for the commissioning of such mega projects which would impact surface and subsea movements.

In another press statement issued yesterday, he said the DoE had approved the EIA report for the three main roads project last year.