Govt to speed up Singapore-KL rail system

PETALING JAYA: Under the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley National Key Economic Area (NKEA), the Government is looking to expedite the planned high-speed rail (HSR) system between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and plans to complete Phase 2A of the feasibility study this year.

However, the main challenge to this initiative, which has been described as a game changer that will catalyse economic growth between the two economic hubs, has been in managing public perception and expectations on the HSR project.

As such, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) will continue to engage with consultants and subject matter experts in reviewing case studies and the experience of other countries with operational HSR networks.

According to the 2013 Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) annual report, this will help SPAD promote the benefits of the project to Malaysians.

It said critical targets set under the HSR project were to complete a detailed environmental impact assessment study and a social impact assessment along the proposed alignment.

The report said the completion of Phase 2A this year included doing government-to-government engagement and agreement with Singapore, technical surveys, socio-economic analysis on the five HSR stations, environmental analysis along the track alignment and setting up a dedicated HSR team.

On the mass rapid transit (MRT) project under Entry Point Project 4, the report said construction work was expected to reach a completion rate comprising 90% of piers, 80% of the elevated guideway foundation, 12,818m of underground tunnel and 80% of underground station excavations.

It said SPAD’s final implementation plan for MRT Line 2 and Line 3 was presented to the Economic Council last June and was now pending approval from the Government.

The challenges faced by MRT Corp during the project included the design and construction of the Bukit Bintang Station in a congested urban environment and insufficient trained and experienced personnel to manage several tunnel boring machines simultaneously.

However, MRT Corp said in the report that it had implemented methods such as using high-tech equipment, diversifying resources and workforce training to overcome the challenges.

Another critical target for this year under this NKEA, the report said, was to get 13 MNCs to set up their regional headquarters here after achieving the target of 10 last year.

It added the NKEA also aimed to push Kuala Lumpur’s Liveability Index ranking to 75 from its rank as the world’s 77th most liveable city in the Economist’s 2012 Global Liveability Survey.

As for talent attraction, the government targets include securing 1,200 expatriates under the Returning Expert Programme and 1,000 approved passes under its Residence Pass Programme.

The report also noted that the River of Life project, which would transform the Klang-Gombak River corridor into a vibrant waterfront of high economic value, would see the commencement of construction works for river beautification in Precinct 7 this year.