M'kini: Broga incinerator: it's over, says paper

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Malaysiakini
Broga incinerator: it's over, says paper

Aug 14, 06 9:27pm

The government has given notice to terminate the RM1.52 billion project to build the region's largest incinerator at Broga, Semenyih, Selangor, a project which from the beginning has met with stiff opposition from local residents and concerned citizens.

Quoting 'businessmen familiar with the project', Singapore's Business Times reported this evening that the government gave the project's developers two weeks to reply to a termination notice.

It said the local government and housing ministry had written to the consortium leading the project - Japan's Ebara Corporation and local company Harta Summa Sdn Bhd - giving notice that the project would be scrapped.

First suggested in 2003 during the government of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the incinerator was first planned for Puchong, Selangor but fierce protests from residents there didn't allow it.

The government then chose Broga but met with even more spirited opposition which besides local residents involved NGOs, political parties, mass protests and the film community. The matter eventually led to the courts.

Project re-studied

Earlier reports had said that Ebara had submitted a RM500 million claim to the government over the stalled project's progress payments over a month ago. Local Government and Housing Minister Ong Ka Ting, when asked about this on Aug 5, said that he was not aware of any such claim.

Malaysiakini had reported on June 16 that the government was re-studying the viability of the project.

Responding to a reporter's question as to whether the cabinet had decided to cancel the project during its meeting on June 14, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi replied that was not so.

"There is no decision yet. There is a need for a incinerator as it is a facility for the people but we are studying whether it is suitable," he told the press conference.

On July 15, Ong said that the proposal was still under study with the matter being raised in cabinet several times. He added cheaper and more environmentally friendly options had been mulled over by the cabinet

Dioxin emissions

Residents at Broga had mobilised against the project citing the danger it posed given that its proposed location was within a water catchment area and a gazetted forest reserve.

In numerous memorandums to the government, the residents pointed out that the large-scale incinerator would reduce property prices and have negative economic effects on Broga and Semenyih, effects which they said were irreversible.

They were also concerned for their health and well-being, citing dioxin and mercury emissions, among other known contaminants, from incinerators as supported by research findings in Europe and Japan.

The incinerator was to handle Kuala Lumpur's 2,700 tonnes of waste a day, which is more than the city's disposal sites can currently handle.