A detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, expected to be completed in May, will be the key factor in deciding whether the government should proceed with the construction of a RM1.5 billion incinerator plant in Broga, Selangor.

Housing and Local Government Minister o­ng Ka Ting told the Dewan Rakyat today that work o­n the project would not commence before approval is obtained from the Department of Environment.

He said the government would abide by any guidelines outlined by the department.

Mitigatory measures

The minister was responding to Dr Hasan Mohamed Ali (PAS- Parit Buntar) who inquired about the status of the controversial incinerator project.

"In the EIA study, public complaints including those of traffic congestion, emission of dioxins and unpleasant smells will be taken into account to let us outline the mitigation action," he said during the answer-and-question session.

However, Ong reiterated that the incinerator plant is safe and a "more efficient way" of managing solid waste.

"My ministry is very concerned over the complaints made by the public over the implementation of this project," he said.

"This incinerator will have the most sophisticated equipment and facilities so that it is consistent with the international standards.".

He also revealed that his ministry is studying a proposal to set up suitable infrastructure to resolve traffic congestion o­nce the incinerator is completed.

Thousand of lorries are expected to carry solid waste amounting to about 16 tonnes to the incinerator plant o­n a daily basis.

He said the Housing and Local Government Ministry will continue to brief the public o­n "the real situation".

The minister criticised the opposition for allegedly trying to mislead the public by spreading inaccurate information about the project to gain political mileage.

MPs stage walkout

Opposition MPs later staged a walkout when Ong presented his winding-up speech o­n the debate of the Royal Address, after the refused to entertain questions.

The minister repeatedly refused to allow several backbenchers and opposition MPs from seeking clarification during his speech o­n the grounds that he preferred to "finish his speech".

This irked DAP secretary-general and Kota Melaka MP Kerk Kim Hock who criticised Ong for not respecting the right of other MPs to voice their confusion and questions.

"If the minister comes here and doesn't want to answer the question himself, then just let the deputy minister read out the reply...(there is) no point in him coming to parliament (and) also no point in our sitting here. We will get the Hansard tomorrow anyway," he told the House before leaving.

Several PAS and Keadilan MPs followed him while the minister managed to finish his 22-page speech, uninterrupted, in 20 minutes.

Toxic emissions

Last November, the incinerator project was relocated to Broga, Semenyih following severe criticism and protests from residents in and around Kampung Bohol, Puchong, the original site.

The authorities were believed to have relented after residents in Puchong issued an open threat to vote for the opposition in the coming general election.

The project in under a joint committee representing the federal and state governments.

A 'No Incinerator Semenyih/ Broga pro tem action committee has been formed and has collected at least 6,000 signatures in support of its campaign.

The committee submitted a memorandum to Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo last month asking that the incinerator be relocated to a remote, uninhabited area far away from water sources or dams, and without planned future development.

Outlined in the memorandum were the grounds for opposing the incinerator - toxic emissions, unsustainable development, negative environmental impact and the critical need for due diligence in its implementation.

The Selangor government is pushing ahead to meet the 2007 deadline for operations, saying that the plant is necessary to manage the increasing volume of garbage.

Nottingham University had plans to build its fourth campus - and the first outside Britain - in the area but shelved the idea due to the incinerator project.

The plant is reportedly to be funded by a RM2 billion soft loan from the Japanese government.