KL - Singapore High-Speed Rail Cancelled

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong once described the proposed KL-Singapore High-speed Rail project as a 'game changer' to the region. Sadly, the much hyped project is now cancelled following the joint-statement from both countries on the 1st of January 2021. What a terrible news to start the new year!

The stumbling block to seal the deal was mainly due to both sides were unable to reach a consensus on a number of issues. The project was initially estimated to cost about US$14.9 billion to $19.8 billion. Malaysian government seemingly wished to reduce the cost following the devastation to its economy in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The main drawcard of 350km long project is the substantial reduction in travel time to just 90 minutes compared to 4 hours by car. Official estimates show that the project could contribute about $5 billion dollars to the GDP of both Malaysia and Singapore and create more than 100,000 jobs by 2060.

The major disagreement is Malaysian government's proposed to appoint local contractors and consultants instead of having a jointly conducted open tenders process previously agreed. Singapore also cannot accept the Malaysian government's proposal to remove the third party asset company that would supply the train system and operate the railway network. As both countries have no previous experience of operating a high-speed rail network, Singapore cannot agree to the removal of the asset company.

Historically, rail projects have proved to be successful in spurring developments along the path of the networks. This project will not only benefit Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, but will serve as a powerful locomotive to bring up and stimulate developments around the various Malaysian towns along the way.

Some analysts believed that the project's termination will further erode investors' confidence towards the Malaysian government. Malaysian politics has been in an unstable situation since the Sheraton Movement Coup in February 2020.

新加坡总理李显龙曾经预测吉隆坡-新加坡高铁项目将为东南亚带来巨大好处。令人遗憾的是，在2021年1月1日两国最终宣布这个项目已被取消。新的一年却由一个坏消息开始！

双方政府无法在一些问题上达成共识。该项目最初估计耗资约149亿美元至198亿美元。由于新冠肺炎大流行，马来西亚政府似乎希望在2020年经济遭受重创后降低建筑成本。长达350公里的高铁主要吸引力在于，它将行程大幅减少至90分钟，而目前驾车则需要4小时多。官方估计显示，到2060年，该项目可为马来西亚和新加坡的GDP贡献约50亿美元，并创造10万多个就业机会。

历史告诉我们，铁路项目已成功地促进了沿网络道路的发展。该项目不仅会使吉隆坡和新加坡受益，还将会带动并刺激沿途的所有在马来西亚的各个城镇的发展。

一些分析人士就因这次事件认为，该项目的终止将进一步削弱投资者对马来西亚政府的信心。自2020年2月喜来登政变以来，马来西亚政治一直处于不稳定局面。

China Continues To Expand Its Rail Network

China's railways will expand by about 3,700 kilometers in 2021. Travel by rail will be more popular especially with the current travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 Pandemic worldwide.

中国计划在2021年将国内铁路增长约3700公里。尤其在目前由于Covid-19大流行的情况下，国际航线严重受到打击，铁路旅行将会在未来更加受欢迎。

Penang Ferry Suspended

The iconic Penang ferry services have been suspended until Aug 26, for emergency repair works.

A notice was put up near the entrance to the ferry terminal in Weld Quay which stated that the service was interrupted for the time being due to malfunction ferries.

Auxiliary policemen were also stationed at the terminal to divert the passengers to take the shuttle bus instead.

Rapid Ferry head Osman Amir said the three-day service suspension was due to some technical engine problems.

“The problems affect four ferries. We would like to apologize for the inconvenienced caused,” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi who was at the scene, shared his frustration over the halted services on his Facebook live feed.

“The operators should take responsibility as the service suspension has caused distress among the public.

“We urge the Penang Port Commission to provide an explanation,” he said.

Rapid Ferry which operates the service under Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, prepared free bus shuttles to bring passengers to and from the island with a frequency of 20 minutes.

The earliest bus available from Penang Sentral on the mainland was at 6am while the last bus would travel at 9.40pm.

From the island at Weld Quay, the earliest bus would leave at 7.10am and the final bus would leave at 11pm.

Rapid Ferry also put up a status in its official Facebook page about the service interruption, receiving angry comments from netizens.

Many claimed the notice was put up at the last minute, causing inconvenience to those who rely on the ferry service to travel to work.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

The transportation system in Penang desperately needs upgrade to keep up with the rapid growth of urbanization. It is sad to note that the issue was never taken seriously due to politics. Politicians in Malaysia are unfortunately willing to sacrifice the economy of one state simply because it was controlled by the opposition. It is a very narrow minded policy to punish a state even though it contributes huge proportion of the country's GDP annually. When a performing state is being held back politically to progress further, it is not difficult to understand why Malaysia is now lagged much behind a the small little red dot known as Singapore.

China's Electric Tram

Quick charge! A self-driving super capacitor tram has rolled off the production line in China’s Hunan. This eco-friendly tram can run for 5km after charging for only 30s! With a capacity of 500 passengers and a maximum speed of 70km/h, it will operate at Kunming Changshui International Airport.

Penang International Airport Expansion

Finally the expansion of the Penang International Airport has been approved and work will begin March 2020 and completed by 2024. It will double the airport size by increasing the current 6 million annual passengers capacity to 12 million!

Housing Along Transit Line

With the Penang State Government pushing for the Transport Master Plan to be implemented as a matter of urgency; we could soon see housing blocks emerge more densely along the public transport route mainly from Komtar to the airport or more commonly known as the Bayan Lepas LRT Line. 

This will involve the local town planning guidelines to be modified to cater for future demands of housing along the route as the lower income group residents would like to live near public transport for convenience and economic reasons. When fully implemented; Penang's skyline will significantly be altered or evolved to reflect this latest development.

Official announcement of incentives for developers who are willing to work together with the government in making this idea a reality as follow:

Penang State Government will establish a new guideline, Transit Oriented Development or better known as TOD in its efforts to complement and encourage housing development near Light Rapid Transit (LRT) service areas and public bus stations.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that in line with that goal, he asked Plan Malaysia and the two local councils to draft and provide TOD guidelines for Penang.  

“I have directed the Penang City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) to immediately prepare this draft taking into account aspects and jurisdictions of other countries that have practiced it.

“I expect both local authorities to prepare the first draft as early as the first quarter of next year (2020), so developers have time to plan for their housing project in the affected area,” he told a recent media conference here.

Also present was the Chief Minister, Y.A.B. Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Pengkalan Kota State Assemblyman, Daniel Gooi Zi Sen and Jelutong Member of Parliament, R.S.N. Rayer.

Based on the LRT development project along the Komtar line to Bayan Lepas, there are 27 main stations of Phase 1 involving the construction of 20 stations from Komtar to Island A (Penang South Reclamation project, PSR) and Phase 2 (seven stations linking islands A, B and C).

Commenting on the new guidelines to be introduced, Jagdeep said that the State Government would give priority and incentives to developers developing housing schemes using the TOD method along those lines.

“As we all know, a total of 102,335 units of low-cost (LC), low-medium cost (LMC) and affordable (RMM) houses have been achieved so far involving various stages of preparation.

“To achieve Penang 2030 Vision, I have set a new target of 180,000 LC, LMC, RMM, with the remaining 78,000 units needed to be built by 2030.

“The development of the 78,000 units will follow this guideline based method (TOD) … we will also make major adjustments to the amount of parking allowed later in encouraging the public to use public transport while reducing vehicles and carbon footprints, thus making Penang more green, safe and sustainable, ”said Datuk Keramat assemblyman.

In addition, Jagdeep also expects public bus users by 2030 will increase to 30 percent on the island and 40 percent (Seberang).

“Based on the current ratio, the use of public buses is only four percent on the island and eight percent (Seberang).

“As such, we will try to identify more strategic locations for developing bus stations,” he said, adding that there are 1,711 bus stations throughout Penang with 404 rapid bus services on 71 routes.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

Taxi In The Sky

Many major tourist destinations in South East Asia have it such as Singapore's Sentosa Island and Malaysia's Genting Highlands. Although Penang is well known as a tourist haven, there is no unique transportation other than the heritage trishaw until recently. 

The government has decided to implement Penang Sky Cab project as their next tourism project although the main objectives is to solve the daily traffic congestion problem by integrating this project into the bigger Penang Transport Master Plan.

This is a much anticipated project as it will no doubt further strengthen the ties between the island and mainland Penang.

GEORGE TOWN (April 4): Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB)’s Penang Sky Cab, a 4.8km cable car system first mooted by the state government in March last year to connect mainland Penang in Butterworth and Jelutong in Penang Island, is expected to begin construction in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q2018).

MRCB special project general manager Dennis Tan Hui Long said the project is expected to be completed in 3Q2019. It is estimated to cost between RM500 million and RM700 million, based on similar projects in Europe, the United States and Asia.

However, the Sky Cab project, aimed at adding value, akin to a tourism project, to the RM2 billion Penang Sentral transport-oriented development (TOD), is not a revenue-generating project, said Tan.

“This is not a profitable project. It is the state government’s dream project, but we are not doing it as a CSR (corporate social responsibility) project. It is being done for our own development interest as well because it will complement our Penang Sentral project, which is an integrated TOD like KL Sentral,” he told The Edge Financial Daily last week.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the public consultation session on the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) of the project.

Penang Sentral located on the mainland, connecting both the mainland and Penang Island, will have a hotel and a shopping mall too.

“Therefore, we see the Sky Cab project as a project that can add value to our development,” he said.

MRCB, however, cannot ascertain the exact cost of the project at this juncture because it is still conducting a feasibility study on it, he added.

Tan stressed that the detailed design, and cost of construction and materials have to be taken into account first before ascertaining the final project cost. The cable car system is a new idea and was not featured previously in the RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan, which has a 15-year completion period.

“It could be more or less [than an RM500 million to RM700 million estimation]; we cannot say for sure yet,” he said, adding that the group intends to fund the project internally and via bank borrowings.

MRCB expects to submit the DEIA to the department of environment this month before it gets down to the detailed design works, which it expects will be from June to December this year.

Tenders for the cable car system, design, construction and engineering will be called in August and December 2016 respectively. Preliminary designs revealed last year showed that the Penang Sky Cab will have 40 gondolas that could transport up to 1,000 persons every hour on a 15-minute journey and take in the views of the middle of the channel through an observatory tower.

Meanwhile, Tan revealed that ticket fares for Sky Cab for daily commuters had been tentatively set at RM2.50, RM15 for domestic tourists and RM35 for foreign commuters.

“The fare is expected to increase every five years. By the year 2043, the fare for commuters will go up to RM4.80, RM28.50 for domestic tourists and RM65 for foreign tourists,” he shared.

“From our study, we see tourists’ fare increasing by 20% every five years, while the commuters’ fare will rise 40% every 10 years,” he added.

According to his presentation, ridership will grow 5% per annum in the first five years, before decreasing by 2% per annum in the last five years.

“The passenger mix will involve 34% domestic tourists, 26% foreign tourists and 40% commuters. We believe commuters will shift from ferries and the bridge,” he said.

Tan added that 60% of the fare revenue contribution would be generated from foreign tourists, 33% from domestic tourists and the remainder from commuters.

Do not ask the bus driver about the value of your home. Click here at The Edge Reference Price to find out.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 4, 2016. Subscribe to The Edge Financial Daily here.

Source: The Edge Property

Penang's Land Reclamation

Due to the shortage of resources in the state, it is only rational for the state government to use reclaimed land to finance the infrastructure projects, according to two key business organisations in Penang.

 

Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said it was the only currency available as the yearly revenue of the state could not pay for such infrastructure projects.

“The justification is that the reclamation works and the infrastructure projects will generate jobs and business for Penangites, offsetting some of the negative consequences of the reclamation.

“The state government should look into other ways for the affected fishermen to generate an income from fish farming activities.

“Lacking funds and ready land bank should not be used as an excuse to stunt Penang’s economic growth,” he said.

Chan spoke recently in response to the implementation of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), which would see the development of a light rail transit (LRT) system on the island and the Pan Island Link Highway, deemed to be high-priority projects under the PTMP.

Financing the projects under PTMP would involve reclaiming two man-made islands, located near Permatang Damar Laut and Teluk Kumbar, spanning 930ha and 566ha.

The PTMP has raised concerns from certain quarters, particularly from fisherfolk.

The PTMP is a result of the request for proposal (RFP) called by the state government after the Transport Master Plan Strategy Report was unveiled in 2013. The strategy report has recommended plans till 2030, estimated to cost RM27bil.

The original plan was put up with inputs from AJC Planning Consultants Sdn Bhd, Halcrow Consultants Sdn Bhd and Singapore Cruise Centre.

Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) president Datuk Seri Choot Ewe Seng said the state government needed to resolve the traffic congestion problems as soon as possible, as every minute or hour spent trapped in a traffic jam was a loss in economic terms.

“The business community and the public can only benefit from the project. The advantages will outweigh the cost of reclamation.

“However, the state government must ensure that the cost of riding the LRT is minimal and not a burden to the people,” Choot said.

Property valuation and management company CA Lim & Co principal Lim Chien Aun said the state government should set up a fund using the proceeds raised from selling the reclaimed lands to subsidise the maintenance costs of the proposed infrastructure of the PTMP inclusive of the LRT.

“Otherwise the cost of maintaining the LRT would have to fall on Penangites.

“The LRT qualifies as a state project as reclaimed land owned by the state will be auctioned off to fund its implementation,” Chien Aun added.

However, not all are in favour of the move to use reclaimed land to fund infrastructure projects.

Penang Island City Council councillor Dr Lim Mah Hui said the PTMP was planned till 2065. “The plan overestimates the population growth in Penang, compared with the Department of Statistics population projection.”

Lim said the PTMP focus should not be on building roads and tunnels to move cars, but on moving people through public transport.

“The original TMP Strategy Report envisaged 60% to be spent on roads and tunnels and 40% on public transport. This priority should be reversed with public transport accounting for at least 70% to 80% of the total budget,” he said.

Lim said there were faster and cheaper ways of reducing traffic congestions that had been successfully practised in other countries.

“For example, Penang’s traffic congestions are mainly concentrated during peak hours. These can be reduced considerably by imposing charges on vehicles entering the city during peak hours,” he said.

Meanwhile, state local government, traffic, and flood mitigation committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the rapid growth of towns such as Batu Kawan, Butterworth and Seberang Jaya would boost Penang’s population and the demand for an integrated transportation system.

“The Department of Statistics projects a population of 1.86 million for Penang by 2030, the anticipated higher number of 2.45 million people by that year (as projected in the plan) was derived by applying the same average annual population growth rate of 2.3% (which was recorded in the period of 2010-2020),” he said.

Chow said before the move to charge motorists entering the city during peak hours or ’congestion pricing’ could be implemented, there must be an  effective public transport system in place.

“Singapore for example only enforced electronic road pricing (ERP, an electronic toll collection scheme for congestion pricing) in 1998 after building its first MRT line in 1982,” he added.

The PTMP proposes seven public transport lines for the island and the mainland, including two LRTs, three monorails, heritage tram and bus rapid transit, which adds up to a total of 151km of public transport network.

“There are eight highways, including the undersea tunnel, planned under the highway network, in addition to several local road enhancements in Seberang Perai, which adds up to 71.5km of highways and roads proposed under the PTMP,” Chow said.

Source: The Star