WORK on the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) may proceed now that the reservations of the Johor sultan have been addressed.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan said he did not expect the palace to have issues with the project, following an audience with the Johor ruler last week on the RTS Link.

“Some of the perceptions he had were formed from information from third parties. We gave him the true story.

“We also took some of his ideas and tried to improve the alignment. But at the end of the day, His Majesty agrees that the project is valuable to both countries and has to be done, the sooner the better,” he said.

Rahman said he would be periodically updating the sultan on the progress of the project.

Last month, the Johor Sultan expressed serious reservations about the curved shape of the RTS Link and the height of the bridge, which went up to 30m above the water in the middle section. 

The Johor ruler said he welcomed the link but found the curved design to be impractical and probably costly. He also questioned Prasarana Malaysia Bhd’s role in the project which he felt should have been assigned to the state government.

Prasarana and Singapore’s SMRT Corporation Ltd today inked a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture company to design, build, finance, operate, maintain and renew the rail line linking the two countries.

The bilateral agreement will be signed in December, when the equity stakes of the two sides will be revealed.

Rahman, who witnessed the signing of the MoU, said one party was expected to hold a higher stake in the JV company.

“We can’t have 50/50 stake because we may face problems in the decision-making process. We don’t expect any big issues,” he said, adding that Malaysia was taking the lead on the project.

The 4km long RTS Link will connect Malaysia via Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru and Singapore via  Woodlands North MRT.

On the cost of the link, Abdul Rahman said it has not been finalised due to the alignment.

“The cost will depend on the alignment of the track. It will involve a bridge crossing the crossway,” he said.

Open tenders will be called next year and construction is expected to begin in 2019. 

Upon completion in 2024, the RTS Link will serve 10,000 commuters in each direction per hour.

Also at the signing today were Prasarana group CEO Azmi Abdul Aziz, newly appointed Prasarana chairman Khalid Abu Bakar and SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming. – September 25, 2017.