Penang fishermen affected by reclamation to get first RM500

 

The Penang reclamation project entails the creation of three man-made islands covering 17 square kilometres.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state government has approved the first ex-gratia payment of RM500 each to fishermen affected by the Penang South Reclamation project.

Deputy Chief Minister I Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman said the payments were part of the social impact management plan. He said fishermen who have registered their details with the local fishermen service centre would receive their first payment this week.

“The RM500 payment will be paid out by batches based on the date of registration. This means those who registered earlier will get paid first,” he said in a statement here today.

The list of recipients had been reviewed by the Malaysian Fisheries Development Board and the state fisheries department, he added.

Zakiyuddin, who is also the chairman of the fishermen’s taskforce committee, said the first group of fishermen will receive their payment on Wednesday while the subsequent groups will receive theirs between March 5 and March 12.

A total of 1,615 fishermen (skippers and crew) would receive the benefit, he said.

The implementation of the PSR project, covering an area of almost 17 sq km, involves the development of three man-made islands at the Permatang Damar Laut waters near Bayan Lepas, to create a land bank to fund the Penang Transport Master Plan worth RM46 billion. - FMT