Guan Eng questions Penang exco approval of additional reclamation land off Karpal Singh Drive

KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Air Putih assemblyman Lim Guan Eng today accused the Penang government of directly awarding a controversial 70-acre sea reclamation project off Karpal Singh Drive instead of putting it through an open tender process.

The allegation comes amid an ongoing dispute over the RM1 billion Jelutong landfill rehabilitation and reclamation project after Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow defended the development and denied claims that the additional reclamation land had been improperly awarded.

“The failure to mention the additional 70 acres of sea reclamation in the JDA clearly exposes the fact that this reclamation project was not awarded through the open-tender RFP process,” Lim said in a statement.

He claimed the 70-acre reclamation component was not included in the Joint Development Agreement (JDA) signed between Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and PLB Engineering Bhd on February 21, 2020, but was only approved later by the state executive council.

“This is acknowledged in Chow’s own statement, which said the additional reclamation area was approved and endorsed by the Penang state executive council on August 25, 2021, some 18 months after the JDA was signed,” he said.

Lim challenged Chow and PDC to identify any clause in the JDA that specifically mentioned the additional 70 acres, arguing that the absence of such a provision showed the land was awarded directly rather than through the original request-for-proposal process.

“If they cannot, because no such clause exists, then it is clear that the additional 70 acres were not awarded through an open tender but were instead directly awarded by the Penang state exco on August 25, 2021,” he said.

He said the reclaimed land could be worth as much as RM1.8 billion based on a minimum value of RM600 per square foot and argued that the project carried significant implications for residents and the environment.

Lim also questioned changes to the payment terms of a RM20 million project management fee owed by PLB Engineering to PDC, saying the state exco had amended the arrangement after the JDA was signed.

He said the public should decide whether or not to allow the RM20 million to be repaid in annual RM5 million instalments instead of under the original terms complied with the conditions of the open-tender process and the JDA.

PDC signed an agreement with PLB Engineering in 2020 to rehabilitate and develop the Jelutong landfill site at a reported cost of RM1 billion, including plans to reclaim about 30 hectares of land off Karpal Singh Drive.

The project has faced strong opposition from environmental groups and residents, while the Department of Environment has rejected its Environmental Impact Assessment application five times, most recently in March this year.

Last month, Chow said the state government had yet to decide on an extension of time request for the project and was awaiting a presentation from PDC before bringing the matter to the state exco.

Critics have also raised concerns over the project’s proximity to the Middle Bank marine sanctuary, which is home to the only known seagrass bed in the Straits of Malacca and hundreds of recorded species.