JOHOR BAHRU: There are higher chances to link the rapid transit system (RTS) in Johor to the main station in Kempas as 200 acres of land are available there, said Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.
He said the rapid transit system that would begin or end in Johor Bahru would link up with the main station either in JB Sentral or Kempas.
However, it was unlikely at JB Sentral as there was no space for the purpose, he told a media briefing on the progress of Iskandar Malaysia.
The event was organised by Danga Bay Sdn Bhd, the custodian of a privatisation contract awarded by the Johor State Government in early 2000 to develop 1,800 acres of waterfront land along Johor’s Lido Beach.
The RTS is a joint effort between Malaysia and Singapore under the Points of Agreement ++ (POA++) to improve accessibility between Johor and Singapore.
Other joint efforts under the POA++ was the joint venture between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Ltd to develop an iconic wellness township in Iskandar Malaysia.
Ghani said work on the wellness township project at a waterfront area in Danga Bay, Iskandar Malaysia, was likely to start this year.
Among others, the wellness township will offer medical services, holistic wellness services and facilities and alternative medical treatment.
Ghani said the POA++ referred to matters other than the POA signed in 1990 on the development of KTM Bhd land in Singapore and the relocation of the railway station from Tanjung Pagar to Woodlands by July this year.
On the proposed mass rapid transit (MRT) link between Singapore and Johor, Ghani said the Thomson Line in Singapore, which was likely to be completed in 2018, would have a station facing Johor.
Therefore, the link was RTS Johor and Singapore that interfaced with MRT of the whole island, he said.
“At the moment, we have to implement the double tracking from Gemas to Johor Bahru.
The Transport Ministry has issued letters for squatters to be relocated,” he said.
Ghani said the possible development in the future was how to enhance communications between Malaysia and Singapore due to huge movement of people.
He said that 60,000 to 70,000 people would move into Singapore, therefore it was crucial to have a good RTS under the POA++ to link and connect the two countries.
On another matter, Ghani said projects on the ground were now being implemented or completed and even new proposed projects would still proceed despite what happened in the Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB).
The IIB board on April 4 lodged a police report against its former senior managers after a probe revealed fiduciary lapses. — Bernama