Penang has no plans to gazette Middle Bank marine sanctuary, says exco rep

The Star

21-05-2025

GEORGE TOWN: The state government does not plan to gazette the Middle Bank marine sanctuary, says Penang local government, town and country planning committee chairman Jason H'ng Mooi Lye.
H'ng said the Middle Bank cannot be gazetted as this will turn it into an environmentally sensitive area.
'Any projects that are being implemented within a 500m radius from an environmentally sensitive area will require the Second Schedule of the Environmental Impact Assessment report.
"This will impact planned projects near the gazetted area and this could impact the Penang Port expansion project," he told reporters at the state assembly in George Town, Penang on Wednesday (May 21).
H'ng was clarifying his reply to a written question by Lee Khai Loon (PH - Machang Bubuk) at the state assembly on the rehabilitation of the Jelutong landfill project that involved reclaiming 28.3ha from the sea and the implications of the project on the Middle Bank.
H'ng, in his written reply, said the state had to approve the 28.3ha reclamation project to be turned into a work platform during rehabilitation works on the landfill.
'The Jelutong landfill is unsafe because it has long been an open dumping ground,' he said.
Lee had further asked if the state has an exit clause if the rehabilitation project fails.
H'ng said the joint development agreement will have to be cancelled if the project failed to proceed.
'A new tender will be reopened following Request for Proposal (RFP) or open tender procurement procedures.
"There is a risk of claims and legal action by the developer against the state government and Penang Development Corporation as well.
"A new developer will not be able to take over work at the site until legal procedures are completed and this may take between three to five years," he said.
In March (2025), Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the proposed land reclamation off Karpal Singh Drive and the rehabilitation of the adjacent Jelutong landfill will strictly avoid encroaching into the ecologically sensitive Middle Bank marine sanctuary.
"The state will take steps to prevent disruption from the reclamation project, which will extend from Karpal Singh Drive, adjacent to the 36ha Jelutong landfill site that has been operating since the 1990s.
"Rehabilitation will involve excavating millions of cubic meters of waste, with recyclables to be processed while residuals will be relocated to Pulau Burung on the mainland.
"Post-rehabilitation, the area will transition into a mixed-development zone, with 20–30% of the reclaimed land allocated to the state," he said.
Chow said that the RM1bil project, a collaboration between Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and PLB Engineering Bhd, is awaiting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval from the Environment Department (DOE).
Spanning approximately 10 square kilometers (1,562.49ha) in the South Channel between Penang Island and the mainland, the Middle Bank sanctuary is a linchpin of marine biodiversity in the Straits of Malacca.
It hosts the region's only extensive seagrass bed, a critical ecosystem that supports over 429 documented species of flora and fauna.
Among these are seven species of seagrass, which form underwater meadows vital for carbon sequestration, coastal protection and nurturing juvenile marine life.
The sanctuary's rich biodiversity also includes endangered green turtles and dugongs, which rely on seagrass as their primary food source.