KUALA LUMPUR: A study on the design of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Johor Baru-Singapore project will be completed in a month, after considering alternatives offered by the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
Minister in Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan today said he had an audience with the Sultan last week and cleared the air about the project's proposed design.
"Perceptions that the Sultan had on the project was based on third party information.
"We had an audience with him and gave him the true story. We took heed of some ideas he had especially in terms of the alignment of the link."
Rahman was speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Singapore's SMRT Corporation Ltd, where both companies formed a joint venture company to operate the RTS link.
The operating company (OpCo) consisting of both companies, will design, build, finance, operate, maintain and renew the RTS link assets like trains, tracks and systems.
In an exclusive interview with the NST last month, Sultan Ibrahim expressed his concerns over the proposed RTS rail track, including an elevated bridge, linking Woodlands in Singapore and Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru.
According to him, the proposed curved design of the rail link as well as the elevated bridge was impractical, unsustainable, potentially costly and would be an eyesore along the city skyline on the Johor Straits.
Rahman said the Sultan agreed that the project was valuable to both Malaysia and Singapore and the sooner it was completed, the better.
"We have several alternatives. There are high, low, diagonal, perpendicular designs of the bridge.
"We will complete the study on the design in about a month and present it to our Singaporean counterparts," he said.
The project's bilateral agreement between all parties involved will be signed in December, he added.
The MOU today was inked by Prasarana group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azmi Abdul Aziz and SMRT president and group chief executive officer Desmond Kuek.
Witnessing the signing was Prasarana chairman Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming.
The RTS rail link was announced by the Malaysian and Singaporean governments in 2010, to provide a much needed alternative to the 80,000 to 100,000 people who commute at the Malaysia-Singapore Causeway daily.
It will transport up to 10,000 passengers an hour in each direction between the two cities.
Construction is scheduled to start in 2019 with completion by end of 2024.