Public support for MRT overwhelming

Public support for MRT overwhelming, says Spad

By Lee Wei Lian

June 06, 2011

Nur Kamal promised to have his commission delve into objections over the MRT. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — The Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) today said responses received during its public display of the first phase of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system were “resoundingly” positive.

According to the commission, 91 per cent of the more than 6,000 comments and suggestions were in support of the project, touted as Malaysia’s most expensive ever.

Spad CEO Mohd Nur Kamal noted, however, that though the majority were in support of the MRT, there were also objections over the system’s proposed alignment and environmental impact which he promised the commission would “seriously” look into.

“We’re very glad to see this, because what this says is the public has been very objective towards this project from the very beginning,” said Mohd Nur.

“Through the various stakeholder engagements that we have organised, we have seen the majority are in support of the KVMRT project.”

The public display was held at seven locations for three months from February 14 to May 14.

The commission also organised more than 50 meetings with the relevant local council authorities, members of parliaments and residents associations over the three month public display period.

While traffic-weary city residents have long called for an efficient mass rapid transit system like those in world class cities, their enthusiasm for the MRT system that was announced last year has also been tempered due to previous issues related to the implementation of KL’s LRT system such as sub-optimal alignment, lack of platform integration or a single ticketing system.

Controversy also surrounded the purported cost of the project, which some reports pegged to be as high as RM50 billion, although authorities have said the cost cannot be finalised until the MRT’s alignment is confirmed.

There was also a public struggle over the tender for MRT works when Perkasa and the Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia protested the qualification criteria for contractors, prompting the project owner Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd to revise its pre-qualification criteria to allow joint ventures and make the minimum paid-up capital criteria non-mandatory.

The alignment for the MRT is expected to be confirmed this month, with the first construction awards to be given out in November.

The massive project, aimed at relieving traffic congestion and improving mobility in and around the capital city, is expected to generate 130,000 jobs during its five-year construction phase.

The Sungai Buloh-Kajang line is expected to start service in January 2017, a month after construction is to be completed in December 2016.