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JOHOR BARU (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Johor is set to grow even further in the next five years with the completion of the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) link, which will only take five minutes to reach Republic Island . said Johor’s ruler, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar.
Sultan Ibrahim said he had been informed that the RTS Link was expected to carry up to 300,000 passengers a day.
“It will dramatically put Johor as a strategic link with Singapore on another level. Traveling between Johor and Singapore will be much easier and faster. I am looking forward to the RTS,” he said in an interview in conjunction with the Chinese New Year.
He said property prices would go up as RTS would make living and working in Johor more conducive to both parties.
“There is a mutual benefit of RTS as the link will reduce pressure on the space in Singapore. It will further integrate the two communities.”
“Johor hopes to offer itself as a technology and medical center. There is huge potential,” he added.
He also said there would be stronger momentum for the hotel, hospitality and tourism sectors in Johor.
The 4 km RTS link, 2.7 km on the route in Malaysia and 1.3 km in Singapore, will link the Bukit Chagar terminal station in Johor with the Singapore terminal in Woodlands North.
Construction of the project in Bukit Chagar began in November last year, and Malaysia started a three-month public inspection of the RTS Link project last month.
The RTS Link stations will integrate with the local transportation networks in Johor and Woodlands.
Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong had said that outside of the 4 km line, an elevated 2.7 km stretch would be within Malaysia’s borders.
The line would go underground when it reached Singapore, said Datuk Seri Wee.
With a capacity of up to 10,000 passengers per hour per direction, the RTS Link is expected to carry up to 300,000 passengers per day.
Travel time will be just five minutes and during peak hours, trains will run 3.6 minutes apart.
The Sultan of Johor said that the RTS will bring huge economic benefits to Johor and will end the long-standing traffic congestion problem on the Causeway.
“There will also be side effects from the construction of the RTS, as thousands of jobs will be created for Johoreans, especially local contractors and suppliers,” he said.
The total cost of the RTS project, which was previously suspended at the request of Malaysia, is estimated at RM10bil (S $ 3.24 billion).
Mr. Wee had also said that for customs clearance, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) purposes, a new CIQ facility for RTS Link passengers would be built, separate from the existing CIQ.
Under the revised bilateral agreements, the project depot has been moved from the existing Thomson-East Coast Line Mandai depot in Singapore to a new location at Wadi Hana in Johor Baru.
The RTS Link project was intended for completion in 2024, but work was discontinued. The suspension was extended three times at the request of Malaysia.
On July 30 last year, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong attended the ceremony at the midpoint of the Causeway that marked the resumption of the RTS project.
The project is now scheduled for completion in late 2026.
The RTS is located within the Ibrahim International Business District (IIBD) which spans over 250 acres of the existing downtown Johor Baru, which is poised to become the next economic growth zone.
The IIBD is destined to become the catalyst for explosive economic growth, propelling the city as a financial, healthcare and technology hub.
An example of the close working relationship between the state and Singapore is the creation of a Johor state trade office in the republic.
The state capital is poised to complement Singapore and provide ample land and cheaper labor for many industries where investors can live in Johor Baru and travel or even establish their offices in Johor Baru.
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