Singapore yesterday repeated its concerns to Malaysia over land reclamation works in the Straits of Johor, reported the media.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan, during a visit to Kuala Lumpur for the 27th Annual Exchange of Visits between the environment ministries of Singapore and Malaysia, restated the city-state’s request to suspend the reclamation projects until Singapore has received and studied all relevant information from Malaysia, which include the Environmental Impact Assessments, and established these projects would not have any transboundary impact on Singapore.
Dr Balakrishnan stressed the two neighbouring countries are obliged under international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to undertake and share Environmental Impact Assessments on works that could have transboundary impact, prior to starting such work.
He said Singapore is looking forward to Malaysia’s reply to said requests.
Other issues discussed at the meeting include the joint monitoring of water quality in the Straits of Johor, controlling vehicular emissions as well as the emergency response plans for chemical spills at the East of Johor Strait and at the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
