KUALA LUMPUR – The cabinet will decide on a mass rapid transit project for Johor Bahru in the coming months, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
The system will complement the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) and the KL-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project, as the southern state is considered an economic “front-line” state, Loke said on the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast.
“There has to be a decision on policy from the federal government (as) this project is urgent. I agree that Johor Bahru needs a transit system.
“But in what form, whether LRT (light rail transit) or BRT (bus-rail transit), or some even suggest the ART (autonomous rapid rail transit), we are looking at it,” he told Keluar Sekejap hosts Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.
Loke said “some presentations have been made” and the cabinet will make a decision soon.
“Because Johor is indeed one of the states that is seen as one economy front-line state. Its geographical position is close to Singapore,” he added.
While he felt all major cities needed a rapid transit system, Loke said Johor was considered “urgent” as the state is a major hub for data centres and logistics companies.
With the RTS link with Singapore, to be completed in 2026 and operable the following year, Johor Bahru will need a traffic dispersal system, he added.
“A rapid transit system can be implemented in three years. Whether it is a combination of BRT with other systems, it is being studied. And a decision needs to be made this year as well,” he said.
Loke was also asked about Yang di Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s suggestion that the KL-Singapore HSR alignment be made to include Forest City. Sultan Ibrahim, who is also Johor Ruler, had made this proposal in December last year.
Loke said that while there has been no decision on the HSR’s alignment yet, he agreed that Forest City was an important area.
“The HSR must go through strategic areas. Forest City lies between key regions and like it or not, has thousands of residential units. It is also one of the special financial zones for Johor.
“One of the things we want to see is that the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone includes these nearby areas. So in terms of range, it (HSR) must capture these areas.”
MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, a company wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated, is currently reviewing several proposals from companies bidding for the HSR project.
Loke has said previously that the project is to be fully led and funded by the private sector.
On the Keluar Sekejap podcast, he reiterated this and said that the concession method used for private companies to build highways could also be used for the HSR project.
The HSR is to be a 350-km dedicated high-speed line between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. It was cancelled in 2021 when it was to be under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, and was revived last year by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration under a different proposed financing model that would not incur government spending. – April 6, 2024