Home Ministry sec-gen: 23 initiatives to address congestion at Johor CIQ

JOHOR BARU: The Special Committee on Congestion at the Johor Causeway has introduced 23 initiatives to address congestion at the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) in Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) in Iskandar Puteri.

Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz said that as of Nov 9, 13 out of 23 initiatives had been completed with six being implemented, and four had yet to be implemented.

“This committee was set up as a platform to coordinate and keep track of all 23 initiatives through five technical working groups (TWG). Periodically, implementation progress reports for all initiatives are delivered to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“The implementation of all these initiatives is an integrated effort of all parties involved in the Johor Causeway aimed not only at reducing congestion at the causeway, but also to improve the effectiveness of service delivery to the people,” he said in a statement on Saturday (Nov 12).

According to him, a total of 30 projects, or 81% of the 37 upgrading projects, have been completed and all have been implemented according to the set period, covering short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives.

“The committee has also agreed to improve five existing initiatives to ease causeway congestion, which includes adding 25 Automated Clearance System for Malaysian Citizen Motorcyclists (M-BIKE) counters.

“This is on top of the existing 50 M-BIKE counters. There will also be a mini command centre and four customs lanes at KSAB.

“We will also be conducting upgrade works on the bus terminal, including adding a roof to the bus parking area at KSAB, and conducting a feasibility study, taking into account the increase in the number of passengers that exceeds the capacity of both BSI and KSAB,” he said.

There will also be ongoing announcements and notifications to increase awareness through digital billboards, and the need to examine the use of technology for enforcement by agencies operating on the Johor Causeway, he added.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan added that any future planning would take into account the proposed use of the latest toll payment method using radio frequency identification (RFID), or MyRFID technology, by at least 65,000 vehicles from Singapore registered with the Road Transport Department (JPJ) at the country's entry points.

He said enforcement agencies such as the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Immigration Department, and JPJ will ensure that motorists adhere to laws and regulations to ensure the smooth flow of traffic at the causeway.

All of these initiatives were discussed during the committee’s meeting at BSI on Nov 10.

The meeting was chaired by Wan Ahmad Dahlan and attended by the Johor government, Works Ministry, Health Ministry, Transport Ministry, Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry, PDRM, Immigration Department, Royal Malaysian Customs Department, JPJ, and the Public Works Department.

On Nov 9, Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud was reported as saying that at least 12 vehicle lanes at KSAB will be changed into contra lanes to ease the expected huge incoming traffic from Singapore on polling day.

He added that currently, there are 48 travel lanes that are evenly divided between heading to and from Singapore at the Second Link.

“This means that we can expand the incoming lanes to 36 if necessary to control traffic (from Singapore) on Nov 19.

“We are expecting Malaysians who are planning to vote to start travelling on Nov 16 and return on Nov 19 evening,” he said.