BEN TAN New Straits Times 16 Feb 15;
JOHOR BARU: The developers of the controversial Forest City project will start reclaiming land after the Chinese New Year holidays following the greenlight given last month by the Department of Environment (DoE).
Country Garden PacificView Sdn Bhd (CGPV), the master developer for the project, will commence work on the mega-project with a particular emphasis on conserving the surrounding areas environment.
CGPV executive director Datuk Md Othman Yusof said the developers will start by maintaining the Merambong seagrass bed which will be located in between the four linked islands of Forest City.
"We will allocate about RM3.5 million to maintain and conserve the seagrass bed as part of the project," he said at a luncheon held at Country Garden Danga Bay here today.
In addition to that, Othman added that the developers will also be replanting mangrove trees along the coastal area as part of its environmental commitment of the area.
"These are all part of our initiative to maintain and nature the surrounding environment together with the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report that has been approved by the DoE.
It is learnt that CGPV had embarked on such an initiative to minimise or mitigate environmental impacts through integrated and workable solutions.
Othman said all compliance monitoring, in terms of air, noise, water quality and sediment, will be seriously implemented and carried out.
"This is one of our immediate priorities to minimise the impact and ensure that the surrounding ecology are well preserved," he said.
Forest City is a cluster of four reclaimed islands, the biggest measuring 1,005ha, while the smallest is 58ha.
Forest City's Scaled Down Development To Lower GDV By 20-30 Pct
Bernama 16 Feb 15;
JOHOR BAHARU, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- The development of Forest City project, the size of which has been scaled down twice, is likely to see a reduction of between 20 per cent and 30 per cent in gross development value (GDV) from the initial estimate of RM600 billion.
Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd Executive Director Datuk Md Othman Yusuf said the project has now been scaled down to 1,386 hectares from the originally plan to develop 1,978 hectares.
He said the project, which would take about 10-20 years to fully complete, was already scaled down once from its original size to 1,624 hectares.
"Once we have done with the calculation, we will announce the new cost. We are anticipating some reduction from the original cost," he told reporters during a media luncheon here today.
The new estimates would be based on the latest gross floor area, he added.
Md Othman said following the green light from the Department of Environment and with the approval of the project's detailed environmental impact assessment on Jan 9, the company would resume reclamation work for the first phase after the Chinese New Year holidays.
Since June last year, the company ceased reclamation work for the first phase.
When asked on the status of the Merambong sea grass bed, located within the project, he said the company was currently working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to preserve the area.
"We have already allocated RM3.5 million for initial steps to preserve the area," he added.
The project is a joint-venture project between the state government's subsidiary company Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor and China's real estate developer Country Garden Holdings Ltd.
Forest City entails the reclamation and development of a large area over three decades in the Straits of Johor, which involves the creation of four man-made islands located in the waters of Tanjung Kupang between southwest Johor and northwest Singapore.
-- BERNAMA
