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By Himanshu Bhatt. ABOUT a month ago, the Penang Port authorities created a furore when they announced they wanted to reclaim about 400ha (1,000 acres) of the Penang Channel to facilitate a new "mini free industrial zone" and a halal logistics hub along the Butterworth coastline. Coincidentally, on the island – somewhere opposite the shoreline that the port authorities plan to reclaim – a developer reclaiming land from the sea north of the Penang Bridge announced it was on track to build a new waterfront project – on 61.5ha of land carved out from the Penang Channel.
And most recently, the state government expressed its own vision to have 14ha reclaimed south of the bridge some time in the future, right next to 25ha of coastal land at Bayan Mutiara where a new township is being earmarked. By the way things are going, the very shape of Penang is literally going to be altered in a radical way and cartographers will surely have their hands full trying to redo the state’s map. But what is alarming about this situation is the distinct possibility of massive environmental impact that the reclamations would bring. And this concern is by no means unfounded. Earlier this year, theSun reported that a state-commissioned study by the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim) in 2009 indicated that reclamation works had brought about significant geological changes that may have in turn led to alterations in tidal patterns in the Penang Channel and the seas around the state. The Nahrim report pointed to the popular Gurney Drive coastline which has been affected by mud, incidentally on the heels of massive reclamations nearby, including that in nearby Tanjung Tokong. Most worryingly, the report indicated that currents have been diverted, pushing mud to be deposited along the island’s north-eastern coast and the Penang Channel. In a sombre twist, the affected areas cited include those around where a fatal dragon-boat training accident occurred on Jan 17. Survivors had recounted being pulled down by powerful undercurrents. You do not need a scientist to feel that something may be going wrong. Inshore fishermen who ply the Penang Channel say they have already observed currents changing over the last ten years. Fishermen I spoke to recounted seeing certain stretches becoming shallower about the same time that reclamation had taken place there, while middle portions of the channel remained deep. Added to this was a bizarre incident that took place in February, when a series of unusual tides pulled away enormous amounts of earth from a stretch of the Tanjung Bungah beach on the island, causing its ground level to be lowered by an astonishing height of as much as 2m. The erosion was so powerful that at least three palm trees planted by a hotel nearby were uprooted instantly. And there may be much more still to come. As it is, a RM350 million allocation is expected to be set aside under the 10th Malaysia Plan for the deepening of the Penang channel from the current 11m draft to some 14.5m, to enable large ships to use the port. And the mother of all reclamations can be expected if federal plans for the controversial Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) do take place – to very likely eat up a massive chunk of the Gurney Drive coastline. Developers and the authorities have of course assured that they undertake proper hydro-graphic surveys, tidal studies and other environmental assessment before embarking or allowing the reclamation projects. But that does little to assuage concerns. To underscore the urgency of the situation, State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh has said that Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for coastal areas had in the past been made in "unrestricted and questionable" manners. The Penang government is already identifying coastal sites to be gazetted for planting of mangroves and has even considered "special reclamation" in a bid to protect the eroding shorelines and restore the natural hydro-flow of the coastal waters. Even then, one is left to wonder if there is any hope left for Penang’s sea waters, as they are plundered into, and subjected to the most drastic series of dredging and reclamation works to be seen in the history of the state. ** Republished with permission. This article first appeared in the August 5, 2010, issue of theSun. Himanshu is the theSun's bureau chief.
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