Slew of projects being done to ease congestion at Johor land crossings, says top Malaysian official
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The projects include adding 25 automated clearance system for Malaysian motorcyclists.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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JOHOR BARU - A special Malaysian government committee is implementing a slew of projects in stages to address vehicle and human traffic congestion at the country’s two land crossings with Singapore, said Home Ministry secretary-general Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz on Saturday.
The projects include adding 25 automated clearance system for Malaysian motorcyclists, upgrading works on the bus terminal in Gelang Patah Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ), and studying toll payments using radio frequency identification (RFID) for vehicles from Singapore.
The Immigration Department said last week that at least 12 out of the 48 vehicle lanes at the Gelang Patah CIQ can now be changed into “contra lanes” to ease incoming traffic from Singapore on Malaysia’s polling day on Nov 19. This means that the 12 lanes which are normally used for vehicles exiting Johor can be quickly changed to receive vehicles coming from Singapore.
Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad said the Special Committee on Congestion has introduced 23 initiatives to address congestion at the land crossings in Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) at the Causeway, and at the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) at the Second Link in Tuas.
The Johor-Singapore border crossings are among the world’s busiest. Before the coronavirus pandemic, about 415,000 people used the Causeway and the Tuas Second Link daily.
Mr Wan Ahmad said that as of Nov 9, 13 out of 23 initiatives have been completed. Six more are being implemented and four projects have yet to be started.
“This committee was set up as a platform to coordinate and keep track of all 23 initiatives through five technical working groups,” he said in a statement. “The implementation of all these initiatives is an integrated effort of all parties involved in the Johor Causeway aimed not only at reducing congestion... but also to improve the effectiveness of service delivery to the people.”
He said the committee will add a roof to the bus parking area at KSAB for the convenience of commuters, and looking for solutions at the increasing number of people using bus services “that exceeds the capacity” at both BSI and KSAB.
Mr Wan Ahmad added that future planning would take into account the proposed use of the RFID, or Malaysia’s MyRFID technology, by at least 65,000 vehicles from Singapore registered with the Road Transport Department at the country’s entry points.
Speaking about Malaysia’s polling day on Nov 19,
