PENANG Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow admitted today that the National Physical Planning Council (NPPC) did not approve the Penang South Reclamation (PSR), correcting an announcement he reportedly made yesterday after the council’s meeting.

Chow said that the council had merely agreed with the proposed reclamation project and had put forth 18 recommendations.

Several media outlets had quoted Chow as saying that the PSR was approved, but earlier today, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad denied that approval had been given by the council.

“We agree totally. The NPPC only gives advice, not grant approvals for projects,” Chow told reporters today.

“Its job is to advise governments or departments on matters related to town and country planning, as required by the law.”

All governments, departments or agencies must seek the NPPC’s advice on proposed developments relating to coastal reclamations, construction of major national infrastructures like airports, seaports, railway transportation, highways, dams, toxic waste disposal sites and others infrastructure of national interest.

Chow said Khalid had earlier communicated with him over the statement he would issue about the NPPC not granting PSR any approval.

“I told him I had no objections,” he said, adding that there was no need to further dispute the matter.

“We can also wait for the official NPPC meeting minutes (to find out what transpired at the meeting).”

Chow said that the NPPC did not say that Penang was not allowed to implement the PSR.

“We can, if we follow the council’s 18 recommendations and fulfil the necessary requirements,” he said, adding the NPPC meeting yesterday was just one more step in moving the project forward.

Chow said that Penang had waited three years to take the PSR to the council, adding that the state government would not do anything before it obtained all the necessary approvals.

He said for now, the state government and project delivery partner SRS Consortium will start work on the designs, technical issues and financial architecture to get the project moving.

The PSR project is seen as crucial to the state’s plan to have it serve as the funding model for the multi-billion ringgit Penang Transport Master Plan, which aims to fix the state’s worsening traffic woes through a mix of new highways and public transport systems. – April 19, 2019.