KUALA LUMPUR: China developer Country Gardens Holdings Co Ltd can only develop less than 1,000 acres (405ha) or a quarter of its controversial 1,600ha Forest City project in the Johor Straits under new limits set by the Department of Environment (DoE).

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that the DoE has verbally informed Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture unit of Country Gardens Holdings, of the new limits after complaints from locals and the Singapore government over reclamation works in the narrow waterway between Malaysia and the island state.

“The DoE has decided to limit the project to the first phase and wait for a few years to see the impact before looking at future phases,” a source told The Malaysian Insider. “The DoE is expected to send an official letter about its decision soon to relevant parties,” he said.

Another source said Malaysian environmental authorities made their decision after Singapore presented videos and documentary proof of continued reclamation works for the ambitious China-Malaysia joint-venture project. It is understood that the evidence was presented when the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Commission on Environment (MSJCE) met last month.

Singapore had raised the issue of reclamation works near its sea border as this had effects on its coastal areas. The reclamation works had also affected Malaysia’s nearby key transhipment hub, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP). Last September, the Johor government said it wanted Country Garden Pacificview, the developer of Forest City, to comply with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) before developing the project at Tanjung Kupang, Gelang Patah.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin had said it was important to ensure issues such as environment were given full attention and regulations were adhered to.

“We hope the developer complies with the requirement to submit an EIA report, which is very important for us to ensure all concerns, including from the environmental aspects, are given attention,” he said in Johor Baru.

A public dialogue on Forest City’s detailed EIA turned chaotic on Sept 2, 2014, when the developer was confronted with all kinds of enquiries from the residents in Kampung Pok affected by the project. They expressed dissatisfaction over not being consulted before the implementation of the project, which involved the construction of a 1,600ha man-made island, which was seen as polluting the environment and jeopardising the area’s marine ecology. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 6, 2015.