Transport Minister Anthony Loke says the federal government will provide funding for the Johor E-ART project, with financing details still under negotiation.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Government will provide funding to finance the Elevated Autonomous Rapid Transit (E-ART) project in Johor, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said that for now, the detailed method of financing, actual financial commitment and the repayment mechanism over the concession period are still at the negotiation level.
“Basically, the project’s financing at the initial stage will be borne by the appointed consortium. However, current assessment results show that this mega infrastructure project is not viable if it depends entirely on private sector financing.
“As such, the Federal Government will provide funding to finance the cost of this project,” he said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was replying to a question from Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) on the implementation status of the Johor E-ART project.
Dr Wee had asked whether the Federal Government’s commitment would be through direct funding or a concession model involving the private sector, as well as traffic congestion projections when the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link begins operations in January 2027 before the E-ART project is completed.
Loke said the agreed terms will be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration and approval before the Concession Agreement is signed, and that the E-ART project is expected to be completed within four years from the issuance of the Letter of Acceptance.
He also said that the Transport Ministry, in collaboration with the Johor government, has drawn up a traffic dispersal plan to strengthen the existing public transport system, including the BAS.MY service network which will be expanded to 28 routes involving 254 buses, including electric buses.
He added that through the Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) 2.0 programme, a total of 157 buses will be dedicated to the Johor Bahru (JB) Sentral and Bukit Chagar routes, which are expected to commence in early 2027.
“The ministry is also working to procure 12 KTM Komuter Southern train sets. While awaiting approval, we launched the Shuttle Selatan service connecting Kulai-Kempas-Johor Bahru and Kempas-Pasir Gudang on June 16, with a capacity of 14 trips daily,” he said.
Replying to a supplementary question from Rusdan Rusmi (BN-Padang Besar) on whether the ministry plans to set a policy for public transport projects to have a fare ceiling, Loke said fares for all public transport projects remain under government control.
“When we control fares, it makes the project less competitive and requires a fund injection from the government. So, that is what the government will implement. We hope that public transport can continue to be enjoyed by the people at the lowest possible fares,” he added.
