Questions asked as Johor transit project shifts from ART to rail

 Transport consultant Rosli Khan says the government must explain why the project, tendered as an elevated ART system, is now being described as a rail system.

Reports claim the proposed Johor rail transit project, intended as a feeder for the Johor Bahru-Singapore rail transit system, will cost approximately RM7 billion. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Fresh questions have emerged over a proposed new transit system for Iskandar Malaysia in Johor after Ancom Nylex Bhd described the project as a “rail system” in an announcement made to Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Transport consultant Rosli Khan said the project appears to have diverged from the government’s original description of an “Elevated Autonomous Rapid Transit (E-ART) project”.

He said the original description was contained in a request for proposal (RFP) issued by the public-private partnership unit (Ukas) of the Prime Minister’s Department dated March 12 last year.

Rosli said the wording mattered because the original invitation had in clear terms called for a fully-automated E-ART system, running on rubber tyres.

“That is not the same as a rail-based system,” he told FMT.

Rosli said Ukas was obliged to explain why it had changed its mind and accepted a rail-based system instead.

“When did that happen, and why,” he asked.

In February last year, one month prior to the RFP, transport minister Loke Siew Fook was reported to have said that the E-ART was the government’s preferred option for Johor’s last-mile RTS connectivity.

In the report, Loke described the system as a flexible and cost-effective solution that could operate on non-dedicated tracks, allowing lane-sharing with buses.

The Bernama report also quoted the minister as saying that Ukas would issue an RFP for an elevated ART system.

Rosli said the mismatch raised obvious questions about the fairness of the tender process.

He asked what had happened to bidders who submitted bids based on E-ART systems as required by Ukas, and whether they had lost out despite complying with the requirements originally specified in the tender.

Rosli said Ukas should also explain whether it had consulted the Johor government or the Public Transport Corporation of Johor on any such change.

“The issue cannot be brushed aside.

“At minimum, Ukas needs to be transparent about the discrepancies and explain whether the project remains an elevated ART system running on rubber tyres, or an entirely different system running on rails.”

The proposed system is meant to serve three main corridors, with 32 stations feeding Bukit Chagar, the main interchange for the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS Link.

According to The Edge, the development cost for the proposed rail project is expected to be in the region of RM7 billion. - FMT