The environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the proposed multi-billion ringgit thermal incinerator plant proposed in Broga, Semenyih, has now been postponed to October.

The continued delay has caused various speculations to emerge including a suggestion that it could be due to attempts at tailoring the report to ensure that it conforms with the requirements of the Department of Environment (DOE) prior to approval.

The EIA report was supposed to be released in May.

Early this week, an informal gathering among a group of state and federal government officials at the state secretariat in Shah Alam, Selangor discussed the project details, including a request for more land and a plan to build an alternative road leading to the incinerator plant.

As land is a state matter, the Housing and Local Government ministry was asked to formally apply for the land required but there may be other complications since the identified land may be under private ownership.

The current EIA study area is 12 hectares (30 acres) and it is learnt that the ministry has asked for another 10 hectares or so.

Sources said the extra land is to re-position the giant incinerator in order to avoid cutting into the hill slope that lies within a forest reserve where the project is sited.

Furthermore, Selangor has a policy against hill-cutting or hillside development on slopes with a gradient of more than 25 degrees.

A Selangor exco member told malaysiakini on Tuesday that the EIA study, originally slated for completion in May by government-appointed environmental consultant Perunding Utama Sdn Bhd, will be released for public feedback in two months' time.

Technical requirement

In an interview at his office on Tuesday, Mokhtar Dahlan, the state exco member for local government, housing and squatters, and environment, said the ministry was asked to formally apply for the extra land.

"We have agreed in principal with the requests as we were made to understand that it is part of the technical requirements based on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) study," he said.

"But we wish to reiterate the assurances given by the federal government that the ground work will only begin after the EIA is approved."

Mokhtar said the ministry had also recommended that an alternative access road be built to the proposed plant in order to bypass existing residential areas in the vicinity.

"Work during the construction stage that involves any earth-clearing would be contained within the site, to ensure minimal nuisance and disruption to the surrounding communities.

"This is to allay the fears of many people who have raised concerns over traffic congestion, dust and noise pollution during the pre- and post-construction period," he added.

According to sources, copies of the EIA report were already in the hands of the relevant parties. A DOE officer, when contacted, however said the Broga report has not been completed.

Funding still a secret

To date, the government has refused to divulge the full details of the project, including the source of funding, earlier said to be through a RM1.5 billion Japanese soft loan agreement.

But the Japan government has since distanced itself from the controversial project, saying it never had any such agreement with Malaysia for the proposed incinerator.

Mokhtar has also maintained that he was equally in the dark on the funding details.

"There are several funding possibilities such as through bonds, the national budget, in the form of a grant or even a loan," he said.

"But no one at the state level knows about this because the cabinet directive was for us to prepare the site for the proposed plant."

However, it appears that the additional land may not be included in the study area, especially when the government-appointed environmental consultant, Perunding Utama Sdn Bhd, claims to be in the dark about Tuesday's discussion.

The ministry has its own panel of consultants, several of whom it is learnt were at the informal discussion, including a few consultants from Ebara consortium.

In February, Ebara Corporation, one of Japan's engineering giants, was awarded the contract to design and build the 1,500-tonne plant in Broga.

Persistent protests by local residents, supported by opposition parties and environmental groups, subsequently unearthed a series of reports on dodgy deals and a tainted track record involving several of Ebara's plants in Japan.

Residents, led by the Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro tem action committee, claimed that Ebara has a dodgy track record and employs unethical business practices. This has since prompted a probe by the Malaysian government.

Reminder to minister

Yesterday, the committee, which claims to represent 80,000 people in Broga, Beranang, Kajang and Semenyih, sent a reminder to Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting asking for the outcome of the probe after failing to get a response to an earlier letter.

The committee's coordinator Alice Lee said the reminder will be faxed to Ong's office every day until he responds.

The residents had also attempted to dialogue with the government, particularly with Ong, since early this year but they were given the 'silent' treatment.

This is despite the numerous claims, countless police reports and memorandums to various government leaders and agencies stating their case since late last year.

Ong has insisted that dialogues should only take place after the EIA is completed.

The controversial incinerator project, touted as the world's largest to use Japan's zero emission gasification technology, has also been criticised by local and international anti-incineration campaigners.

The committee claimed that the proposed technology remains unproven as it is merely used in a pilot project in Japan, and that incinerators generally pose a health and environmental hazard, the adverse effects are only seen years later.

Emerging studies from Europe and Japan - known to have the world's highest concentration of dioxin - have linked incinerators with birth defects, higher asthma cases among the old and very young, and genetic mutation leading to abnormal sexual development.