KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak officially launched the construction of tunnels of the 52.2km MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line at Bandar Malaysia North MRT here today.
Najib was taken on a tour of the project site before he launched the construction.
At the same event, Najib also launched the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) to be utilised for the project.
The TBM - the first of 12 that will be used for the SSP Line - was launched at the Bandar Malaysia North Launching Shaft at Bandar Malaysia here.
After launching the TBM, Najib and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai among others viewed the TBM from the viewing deck at the edge of the launching shaft.
Liow expressed his gratitude to Najib for attending the event as this would raise public knowledge about the SSP Line.
"I am satisfied with the progress of construction as 22 per cent (of the project) is complete and it is going according to schedule," he said.
Liow noted that the construction - which involves two underground stations here - would allow more people to use the service in light of the convergence of other networks there such as the ERL KLIA Transit Line and KL Monorail Line, among others.
He said that the ticket fare for the SSP Line would be priced low in order to make it more affordable to the public.
"The fare would be competitive and low thanks to government support of the project.
"We want to create a user friendly environment for the public to use the service," he said, adding that they target for public use of the service to hit 40 per cent.
Present during the event were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and its chief executive officer (CEO) Azharuddin Mat Sah, Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) chairman Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa and its CEO Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar, Gamuda Bhd Group Managing Director Datuk Lin Yun Ling, and MMC Corporation Bhd chairman Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas.
MRT Corp is the project owner and developer of the SSP Line, and MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd is the underground works contractor for the project.
The SSP Line - the second to be constructed under the Klang Valley MRT Project - had 35 stations, of which 11 are underground.
With 13.5km of its line to be underground, the SSP Line will run from Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya, through Kepong, Batu, Jalan Ipoh, Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), Tun Razak Exchange, Bandar Malaysia, Sungai Besi, Serdang, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Cyberjaya.
SSP Line's first phase - from Sungai Buloh to Kampung Batu - is expected to be operational by second quarter of 2021, while full operation is targeted for second quarter of 2022.