By ZAZALI MUSA
zaza@thestar.com.my | Mar 18, 2011

New transport hub in Johor

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PASIR GUDANG: An integrated transportation hub would be built in Bandar Seri Alam township here to serve residents in the Eastern Gate Development Zone. Seri Alam Properties Sdn Bhd acting head of subsidiary Frankie Tan Kiat How said a 3.19ha site near to a private medical centre has been slated for the project. “The hub will be developed within the next two years and it will improve connectivity from the Eastern Gate to other parts of Iskandar Malaysia,’’ he toldStarMetro.

Tan said this after hosting an appreciation lunch for members of Johor Baru media and the company’s corporate clients at Amansari Residences and Resorts.

He added that the hub would encompass train commuter, feeder bus and taxi services with the commuter system to be inter linked with the rail network at the Kempas Sentral. The latter is part of the KTM Kempas Baru station which would be developed into an integrated transportation hub for Iskandar Malaysia, similar to KL Sentral, but several times bigger.

Eastern Development Gate is one of the five flagship development zones in Iskandar Malaysia – others are the Johor Baru City Centre, Nusajaya, Western Development Gate and Kulai-Senai. Areas that come under the Eastern Development Gate are Pasir Gudang, Pasir Gudang Port, Pasir Gudang industrial park, Tanjung Langsat Port and Tanjung Langsat industrial complex.

“There is a possibility of a link-up with the Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit system with the transportation hub which will extend from Singapore to Pasir Gudang,’’ said Tan.

In a separate matter, Tan said the company had allocated 16.18ha site in the township for a proposed public hospital in Pasir Gudang to cater for the increasing numbers of residents in the Eastern Gate.

He hoped the government would give priority to the project as residents seeking medical treatments at public hospitals now have to go either to Hospital Sultan Ismail in Pandan or Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Baru. Although there is a private medical centre here, he said not everybody especially wage earners from the medium-low income brackets groups could afford the high medical charges.

“A full-fledged public hospital at least with 200 or 300 beds is a better choice to serve residents here rather than a small hospital,’’ said Tan.

Seri Alam Properties, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Malayan Land Bhd, and currently undertakes the development of 1,347.60ha Bandar Seri Alam township. Development started since 1992, as of todate 60% of the area has been developed with about 10,000 residential and commercial properties and 50,000 residents.

JB-S’pore RTS project being evaluated, Dewan Rakyat told

JB-S’pore RTS project being evaluated, Dewan Rakyat told

Tuesday, 27 March 2012 07:03 Anuja Ravendran 0 Comments

The bullet train project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is not a priority for both the Malaysian and Singapore governments as much as the rapid transit rail system (RTS) between Johor Baru (JB) and Singapore, according to the Malaysian government. Working committees from both the Malaysian and Singapore governments are evaluating open tender bids for the RTS, aimed to relieve peak hour traffic between both countries, and expect the project to be completed by 2018, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

“Construction is expected to commence in 2014 and complete in 2018,” he said in response to Tebrau Member of Parliament (MP) Teng Boon Soon on updates on the proposals to build the mass rapid transit and underwater tunnel between Singapore and Johor Baru as well as the Johor Baru-Kuala Lumpur (KL) bullet train.

The international open tender exercise for the RTS project, expected to include an underground tunnel between both cities, was opened in November and closed in February this year, he said.

The evaluation process has to comply with the requirements set by both countries, he said, adding that the cost for building the RTS will be borne by both governments. He said that the RTS was discussed by both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the last three ministerial retreats between both countries but the bullet train was "not given priority".

At present, it was more important to relieve peak hour traffic between Malaysia’s southern-most city and Singapore as between 30,000 and 40,000 Malaysians and Singaporeans cross over into the both countries at peak hours, with a total of 320,000 people making daily crossovers on normal working days.

“During public holidays, the number doubles,” he said.

Despite this, Ahmad said the government has not dropped the bullet train project and results of the feasibility study will be announced in due course. The project was mooted by YTL Corp Bhd, helmed by Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, in 2006.

The bullet train project has surfaced a number of times since the 1990s. According to news reports in 2008, the government dropped the project, then being bandied with a price tag of RM8 billion, due to the high cost of construction but the project found its way into the limelight again in 2010 when it was announced as a potential Entry Point Project under the ETP.

When asked by Opposition MP for Kuala Selangor Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad on the reason for the delay in announcing the bullet train project for which the cost will continue to grow as the years pass, Ahmad said KL-Singapore travellers have the North-South Expressway to serve their current needs.

The bullet train is touted to cut down travelling time between both cities from six hours by road to 90 minutes.

proposed amendments governing construction sector

BUTTERWORTH: Three proposed amendments governing the Malaysian construction industry is likely to be tabled in Parliament for first reading, the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia said today.

Its President Datuk Abdull Manaf Hashim said the board was trying to get the amendments for first reading in the current Parliament session. The session started yesterday and will end on June 28.

The amendments are Registration of Engineers Act 1967, Architects Act 1967 and Quantity Surveyors Act 1967, he told reporters after opening a seminar on Legal Reforms in the Malaysian Construction Industry.

 

Abdull Manaf said the amendments are the result of the emerging challenges due to globalisation and trade liberalisation within the Malaysian construction industry.

 

"The globalisation and liberalisation have opened up phenomenal opportunities for Malaysian players to explore previously unchartered waters in international construction contracts and in joint venture participation," he said.

 

Abdull Manaf said the industry needed legal reforms to deal with increasingly complex and wider coverage of liabilities and obligations as well as growing concerns and commitment for projects to be completed and delivered in a lawful manner.

 

He said two amendments were approved recently, namely Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) Act 502 and the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act (CIPAA) will be implemented next year.

 

CIPPA's main objectives are to manage persistent cashflow problems arising from frequent miscommunications of contractual obligations and ensure all payment terms are easily understood and accepted by all parties involved in a contract.

NST 12 June 2012

 

New bus network to link to USJ 6 LRT and KTMB stations

BANDAR Sunway and Subang Jaya residents can look forward to a better transport system with the launch of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) network connecting the USJ 6 LRT and KTMB stations. The USJ LRT line, which is an extention of the Kelana Jaya LRT line, and BRT will be completed in 2014.

Prasarana Group chairman Tan Sri Ismail Adam said the BRT network would be connected to the USJ 6 LRT station and KTMB Setia Jaya station near the Federal Highway. “Construction work on the BRT lanes passing through more than 6km with stops at strategic places will begin in the second quarter of 2013,” he said. Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah said the BRT would be an effective transport system with seamless connectivity to ease the burden of the community. However, the total cost of the proposed project by Prasarana and Sunway Group is still being worked out.

It is expected to create a positive spillover effects to the country’s construction and transportation sectors. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launched the maiden BRT-Sunway Line project under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative between Prasarana and Sunway Berhad at the Sunway Monash Residence last Saturday. “The public transport system in the Klang Valley had improved greatly and this project is aimed at improving the network. “I hope Prasarana will continue to further enhance its services so that Malaysia will be famous for its superior urban public transport system,” Cheah added.


The project is seen as the best solution to address the traffic congestion in Bandar Sunway and Subang Jaya, which had about 500,000 residents and students from higher learning institutions like Monash University, Sunway University and Taylor’s University in the area. The buses will operate on designated lanes which can be elevated depending on the needs of the area. Prasarana representative also said there would be new buses for the line but could not confirm the number of additional buses.

By JAROD LIM
metro@thestar.com.my | Jun 13, 2012

KUB awaiting green light to develop commuter train service for Iskandar Malaysia

NUSAJAYA: KUB Malaysia Bhd (KUB) is still waiting for the Government to decide on its proposal to develop the intra-city commuter train (ICCT) service for Iskandar Malaysia.

Group managing director Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Wan Ahmad said as of to date, the company was the only one to have submitted a proposal for the project. Asked whether the company was confident that it would be the one chosen by the Government to develop the multi-billion ringgit project, he said “we have to wait and see.”

“Hopefully, we’ll hear some good news soon as it has been a year since we submitted the proposal,” said Wan Mohd Nor.He said this at the handing over of RM226,000, business tithes by the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary KUB Agrotech Group Sdn Bhd to Johor Islamic Religious Council.Wan Mohd Nor said the company would make an official announcement on the ICCT project at its upcoming annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

KUB and Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Sdn Bhd had in April 2011 via Metropolitan Commuter Network Sdn Bhd (MCN), submitted the proposal of the ICCT service for Iskandar Malaysia. MCN is a joint-venture company between KUB and Malaysia Steel Works and the company had proposed to the Government to construct and operate the rail transit network in Iskandar Malaysia. The company had proposed to develop the RM1.23bil rail network covering 100km to serve all the major suburbs in the country’s first economic growth corridor. By ZAZALI MUSA zaza@thestar.com.my | Jun 12, 2012