Huationg Global Limited last Friday (19 February) issued a statement to shareholders in light of recent news reports on the “erroneously” cleared land at the Kranji woodland in northwestern Singapore.
Nature lovers were shocked to find that large patches of the 70-hectare forest have been cleared after Facebook user Brice Li shared on Facebook on 14 Feb some photos showing the difference between the forest in 2019 and 2021 — the older photo full of lush forestry, while the latest showing a section of the land being developed.
In response to media queries, JTC Corporation said that it discovered that its contractor, Huationg had “erroneously” begun clearing some of these specific plots of land prematurely.
JTC said that these plots of land were earmarked for the development of the Agri-Food Innovation Park (AFIP), which is part of the Sungei Kadut Eco-District (SKED).
A stern warning has since been issued to the contractor, as the land was cleared before the completion of the Biodiversity Baseline Study and an Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan (EMMP) for specified plots of land within the area.
JTC said that the agency takes a very serious view of this incident and will investigate how this error had. occurred before deciding whether further punitive measures need to be taken.
Huationg said it has complied with JTC’s instructions to stop all clearing works.
“We apologise for the erroneous clearing of land and are working with JTC on ongoing investigations to determine the cause of this lapse and to prevent future occurrences,” said Huationg.
The company also said that it is conducting an internal review and working with JTC to strengthen its project management processes.
In the statement to its shareholders, Huationg said it expects delays in the completion of the project works at Kranji Agri-Food Innovation Park, adding that it is unable to assess whether the delay would have a material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and the earnings per share for the fiscal year 2021.
According to GeBIZ records, Huationg won the tender, “Proposed Earthworks and Construction of Infrastructure at Kranji Close and Kranji Road AFIP (Phase 1)” at S$14,974,500.
