A PKR assemblyman, who is in the dark about a major reclamation project in his constituency, has asked the state government to brief the relevant assemblymen on the matter.

Sim Tze Tzin (PKR ? Pantai Jerejak) claimed that some 40.4ha in front of the Queensbay Mall coastline would be reclaimed by Boustead Holdings Bhd under an agreement with the state government.

?From what I understand, the state government approved the reclamation as compensation to the developer for having to scale down its project in the Unesco world heritage site.

?To date I have not received any information on this. I hope the state government can brief the relevant assemblymen on such a big and important project,? he said at the Penang state assembly in George Town yesterday.

He said the reclamation could cause serious environmental impact to nearby areas like Pantai Jerejak and Batu Maung.

?Furthermore, Pulau Jerejak is the crown jewel for the state and should be developed as a tourism attraction like Singapore?s Sentosa Island ? land on the Queensbay Mall coastline is needed for this purpose,? he said calling for an environmental impact assessment to be conducted.

In January, an English daily quoted sources as saying that Boustead and the Penang government had concluded negotiations on the compensation for the property developer to scale down its RM100 million hotel project in the heritage city.

The purported agreement would see Boustead scaling down the height of its original 12 floors to five to comly with Unesco requirements. In return, it would be allowed to reclaim land on the Bayan Lepas coastline.

SOURCE: The Star