Monday January 31, 2011
All eyes and ears on second MRT
By TEE LIN SAY
linsay@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: The second mass rapid transit (MRT) line, which circles the Kuala Lumpur city centre (KLCC) orbital and known as the “circle line”, is already in the final planning stage.

The details are expected to be announced in March.

“Its alignment must depict the current and future business districts in Kuala Lumpur,” said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and chief executive officer of Pemandu Datuk Seri Idris Jala during an Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) update to analysts and fund managers recently.

In the longer term, a third line to Port Klang was being comtemplated, he said. The circle line is expected to cover the hotspots surrounding the KLCC, Jalan Bukit Bintang, the new Kuala Lumpur International Financial District in Dataran Perdana, KL Ecocity, Pusat Bandar Damansara and Sentul, among others.



Meanwhile, the “blue line” the first line which is a 50km alignment that covers Sungai Buloh to Kajang, via Pusat Bandar Damansara and Bukit Bintang is slated for completion in 2016. The network of all the three MRT lines will be fully operational by 2020.

“Greater KL now has a population of 6 million people. By 2020, we will have 10 million people. If we don't have the MRT, the city will be choked. Right now, nearly everybody drives. This is not sustainable,” said Idris.

He added that currently 13% of people commuted using urban transportation. Under the ETP, Idris said this should increase to 50%, adding that the funding structure for the MRT would be disclosed by end-February.

“Apart from reducing travelling time, the MRT will also cause property prices to appreciate because of better accessibility. If your house is near the MRT station, prices will go up because of the commercialisation created around the area,” said Idris.

Some analysts are wary of the ambitious plans laid out by Pemandu.

“As usual, it's a case of execution. Will the Government be able to actually implement the project? We'll need to see it being done to believe it. More importantly, how is the Government going to fund this project?” asked a construction analyst.

Another analyst said the Government was likely to reduce cost by getting developers to co-fund some of the MRT stations.

On implementation, he said that Pemandu would have learnt from past lessons of the LRT, monorail and commuter train.

Some brokers have notably been able to analyse the impact of the proposed MRT comprehensively.

In a Malaysia Market Strategy Report titled “Property boom-boom” released on Jan 26, global investment bank UBS' head of research Chris Oh said Malaysia was set to enjoy improved connectivity in the coming years with the proposed infrastructure rollout of the MRT system and possible high-speed rail linkage between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

He said the MRT captured the imagination of the people, developers and investors. He expects property value around a radius of 20km of the city centre to rise significantly.

The preference would be on developers who have vast landbank with high-density mixed development around MRT stations.

“Interest in Malaysian property will be fuelled by foreigners looking out for higher returns (via undervalued currency and low entry costs) than their home countries (Singapore and Hong Kong) and the absence of significant restrictions on property ownership by foreigners,” said Oh.

Singapore-based DBS Research was the first to issue a property sector report titled “Entering a Golden Era” on Jan 14, analysing the impact of MRT on the property sector.

The analyst, Yee Mei Hui, said: “The MRT system is expected to be a structural catalyst for the rise in value of the real estate surrounding MRT stations.”

In the report, the firm was projecting boldly that land values in MRT hot spots could jump by up to six-fold over the next five years.

She said the MRT would have a strong structural impact on the Kuala Lumpur real estate, given that the KL city had been under-invested since the last wave of mega-projects in the late 1990s.

The new MRT will create new opportunities for high-density mixed developments, urban renewal and new suburban townships.

In turn, this has boosted the potential for land prices to reach new peaks with higher plot ratios and more commercial developments. Other than existing prime areas, she identified KL Ecocity, Pusat Bandar Damansara and Sentul as new locations for high-density developments to watch out for.

By Shannon Teoh
February 15, 2011


A Kaohsiung MRT train arrives at a depot. Malaysia plans to construct a 156km-long MRT line in the Greater KL region. — WikiCommons

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 — Occupants in 473 lots of land totalling 97 hectares will have to make way for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) — in areas as diverse as upscale Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Malay reserve lands along the rail line — according to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) released yesterday.

Of the lots that are set to be acquired, 103 are located within the Sg Buloh – Semantan stretch, 163 over the underground section between Semantan to Maluri in Kuala Lumpur and 207 along the Maluri – Kajang segment.

The RM36.6 billion line will start from the Sungai Buloh KTM station and make its way through the capital city and four other municipalities before ending at the Kajang KTM station, where the report said would be a "loss of social cohesion, sense of community and current lifestyle for long standing communities" while land owners would suffer as the "value of property may decline if only part of the lot is acquired."

"Residents affected by the acquisition and relocation could potentially endure problems such as temporary disruption to lives and loss of social cohesion unless they relocate within the immediate neighbourhood.

"In the case of businesses, there will be potential loss of customers — particularly businesses that rely on the local neighbourhoods," said the project's environmental consultant ERE Consulting Group in the report.

However, the firm said that further refinement in the alignment of the MRT track could reduce the number of lots that needed to be acquired. It cited other areas such as Taman Suntex in Cheras as well as Malay reserve land in Kampung Sungai Sekamat and Kampung Sungai Balak.

ERE recommended that all property on a particular lot be acquired if those that were to remain would suffer severely from a loss of value as well as entire rows of houses rather than leaving a few standing in incompatible land use.

It also proposed that due notice and assistance be provided to the affected parties along with fair valuations for land and properties acquired.

As a mitigating measure, ERE also suggested "continued engagement with local residents who would be affected by the acquisition" and special attention to those living in Kampung Sungai Balak in Kajang as this would be the third time that they have been affected by land acquisition.

The EIA also said that communities along the line would be affected by noise and dust once the trains are operational.

The noisiest area will be around Jalan Bukit Ledang, Damansara Heights, which is expected to suffer noise levels of 81dB, which a study says is louder than conventional alarm clocks.

Noise and dust will largely affect those within 30 metres of the rail line, which include 2,080 landed residential units, 2,980 units of condominium and apartments and 1,000 units of flats.

However, these noise levels can be reduced by using noise barriers.

Despite these problems, the report found that more than 85 per cent of the 675 affected residents surveyed supported the project.

The Klang Valley MRT will have 35 stations along its 51km line that stretches from Sungai Buloh to Kajang, with 13 proposed park-and-ride stations and four interchanges.

Eight of the stations will be underground as 9.5km of the line will be built under the capital city. Groundwork for the MRT is due to start this July 16 and will be completed in 2016.

The MRT is an entry-point project identified for the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley National Key Economic Area under the Economic Transformation Programme.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said last December that the implementation of the project is expected to generate a gross national income (GNI) of between RM3 billion and RM4 billion beginning in 2011 until 2020.

He had said that between RM8 billion and RM12 billion was expected to be generated in terms of spin-offs from the construction of the MRT project.

The proposed alignment map for the Kajang-Sungai Buloh line, the first of three proposed lines under the MRT, is up for public viewing from today until May 14 at seven locations across the city.

The detailed environmental assessment impact report has been uploaded for public viewing at the Department of Environment's website.

i think jb needs it too and later connects to s'pore

Cool.., atleast Malaysian govt do sumthin in public transport matter...
Here Jakarta govt discard the monorail project and MRT is in jeopardy since Japan is the main sponsor of this project. With them being hit by recent Tsunami and Quake.., well...

Arhnnnnn ...... another opportunity for corruption.