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SINGAPORE – On Thursday (November 26), the first civil contract was awarded for the construction of the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) link, a rail transport service between the two countries.
Under the $ 932.8 million contract, Penta-Ocean Construction, a company currently working at the Bright Hill and Orchard stations on the Thomson-East Coast line, will begin work on parts of the connection in the first quarter of next year, the Land Transportation Authority. (LTA) said.
The contract covers the construction of the RTS Link Woodlands North station, the Singapore terminal, tunnels and the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) building located in Woodlands North.
The Woodlands North MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast line, where passengers alighting from the RTS in Singapore can continue their journey, is also a Penta-Ocean Construction project.
The LTA said that the second contract for the RTS Link, which will include the viaduct, will be awarded in the first quarter of 2021.
The RTS Link should be operational by the end of 2026, carrying up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
The Malaysian terminal is located at Bukit Chagar Station in Johor Baru, and the journey between the two stations should take just five minutes.
The two governments agreed to terms stipulating that Malaysia pays about 39 percent of the total cost of the 4 km link and Singapore the rest.
The link should ease congestion on the Causeway and make the Singapore-Malaysia border more accessible, both countries said.
The RTS Link was first announced in 2010 and was expected to be completed in 2018, but delays and cost concerns delayed progress.
Last year, it was suspended at the request of Malaysia for a review of its scope, structure and costs. It officially resumed in July this year.
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