Major revamp for KL Sentral expected

PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has agreed in principle to redevelop the Kuala Lumpur Sentral station transport hub, which will be carried out without any financial implications to the government, says Anthony Loke.

The Transport Minister said the Cabinet, which met yesterday, agreed for the redevelopment to be done by Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB).

“The project will be done via privatisation at a cost estimated to be more than RM1bil that will be borne by MRCB. It will not have any cost to the government,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Loke said that in return, the company will be given the right to develop the area above the station with commercial and residential units. He said the redevelopment of KL Sentral is necessary to meet the increasing number of passengers using the various modes of transport there.

The station, he noted, was originally designed for a 100,000-passenger daily capacity, but the number has since doubled.“The redevelopment will also allow for the station to be equipped with more sophisticated security systems, including the use of artificial intelligence that can monitor the movement of people,” he added.One of the conditions stipulated by the government is that the redevelopment should not affect public transport operations.“The stations will be at the same location and operate as usual with no disruptions,” said Loke.

The minister said MRCB and the Public-Private Partnership Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department will hold discussions on the redevelopment plans and they have been given two years to finalise the agreement.

Plans to upgrade the bustling transport hub have been in the pipeline for some time.

In 2021, then transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong had said the government was mulling a major upgrade of KL Sentral.

Opened on April 16, 2001, the station is a transit-oriented development that was designed as an intermodal transport hub.