Malaysia has agreed to suspend two land reclamation projects off its coast near Singapore after the city-state complained of potential environmental impacts, a news report said today.

Malaysia was dumping aggregate into the sea for a platform to build a luxury residential complex and a mixed-use development near bridges connecting the mainland to Singapore.

The island expressed concerns about the impact of possible increased current on the environment and navigation in the narrow Strait of Johor.

Malaysia was not allowed to carry out “reclamation activities of this scale and nature” so close to Singapore without an environmental impact assessment, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and general international law, Singapore’s Foreign and Home Minister Masagos Zulkifli told parliament yesterday.

Malaysia has sent preliminary information about the two projects, and promised to share any further details in future, he was quoted as saying by news outlet todayonline.com .

It was not known whether a third reclamation project to build an oil refinery was part of the suspension or the information sharing.

In 2002, Malaysia raised concerns over Singapore’s land reclamations for an industrial and a military project, and the potential impact on territorial waters and pollution.

The dispute was resolved after an agreement was signed after mediation at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.  

- dpa