The state government has come under fire for not being transparent and open-minded in its pursuit to implement the controversial RM1.02 billion Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr) project.

Several groups, who have been opposing the17km highway project on the island, were upset that the government did not make any public announcement on the on-going environmental impact assessment (EIA) study.

"At present, all government activities on Porr are shrouded in secrecy. It seems the authorities want to carry out the project at any cost without public knowledge,' said Linda Lim, a spokesperson for the Central Ad-Hoc `No Porr' Committee.

The latest incident to irk the groups was the manner in which the state government displayed a report on the terms of reference for an EIA study on the project for public viewing.

Penang DAP chairperson and Tanjung MP Chow Kon Yeow said the state government had put up the report for public viewing without making any announcement or giving much publicity.

If the state government wanted to demonstrate transparency and was serious about gathering public feedback, he said it should have made a media announcement on the matter.

Many residents, especially those in the project-affected areas, were unaware of the report, which was on display between June 14 and 28 at the Penang Island Municipal Council counter in Komtar.

Although the display period ended on Monday, it is learnt that the state government extended the deadline to the end of this week, once again without publicity.

Many of the Porr opponents themselves only learnt about the display when a member of the public alerted the DAP office.

Official complaint

The report was prepared in February by Subang Jaya-based SD Management Consultants Sdn Bhd in collaboration with the Kuala Lumpur-based Hydec Engineering Sdn Bhd.

In the report, SD Management has assured that the final EIA report on Porr would be ready by October.

Responding to this, Lim said the stated deadline confirmed that the study had already started.

"You need at least six months, if not longer, to ready an EIA report on a mammoth project like Porr. However, the government has no courtesy to inform the public about it," she added.

The ad-hoc committee plans to lodge an official complaint with the state government on the matter.

In the terms of reference, the consultant company assured the public that the EIA study would be comprehensive, covering all aspects.

This includes morphology impact on the coastal zones in Gurney Drive, where a 52.6ha (300 acres) of sea land would be reclaimed; hydrodynamics impact; socio-economic impact; air and noise quality; public health; sand sourcing, as the reclamation work needs more than 2.1 million cubic meters sand; and a preliminary impact report on all areas within the 5km radius of the project.

The report states that the highway alignment has been extended at its Northeast end for another 2.5km each at both sides in Tanjung Tokong and Gurney Drive.

The proposed project would start at Jalan Tunku Kudin in the Southeast and end at Bagan Jermal in the Northeast, cutting through residential, commercial areas and hilly terrains in Gelugor, Taman Delima, Bandar Baru Air Itam, Air Itam old town, Reservoir Garden and Taman Jesselton.

Motorists will have to pay a toll for 30 years.

The proponent of the project is Peninsular Metro Works, whose chairperson Ahmad Ismail is the Bukit Bendera Umno division chairperson.

Traffic congestion

Although the proposed highway project would see the demolition of more than 50 houses and various squatter settlements, the state government has stressed that Porr was planned in accordance with the Penang Draft Structural Plan (2000) to ease traffic congestion in George Town.

SD Management has also promised that the EIA study would be carried out in accordance to requirements stipulated under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987.

However, Chow and Lim are unconvinced.

"Firstly, the government should guarantee Penangites that the highway would ease traffic in George Town.

"Secondly, why can't the state government seek federal funding for the project when other respective state governments can secure the funds for the Sungai Petani outer ring road in Kedah and Seremban expressway in Negeri Sembilan?" asked Chow.

Lim said the state government had a duty to inform the public about all activities carried out officially on Porr.

ATHI VEERANGGAN is malaysiakini's Penang-based stringer.