Johor Plans Upgrades To Ease Congestion At Causeway & Borders With Singapore
Malaysia has announced that they will allocate RM168.7 million (S$48.67 million) to address congestion at the entry points into Johor Bahru (JB).
This will include upgrades at locations such as the two land checkpoints.
In addition, workers under the Immigration Department will be able to enjoy incentives.
Johor plans upgrades to address congestion at Causeway
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Johor will receive RM168.7 million (S$48.6 million) to introduce measures that will ease congestion for travellers entering and leaving Malaysia.
The four measures will be in three different projects, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said.
In addition, Immigration Department officers on land duty will receive incentives. Malaysia has allocated RM7.93 million (S$2.2 million) a year for these incentives.
The upgrades include the construction of 77 automated border control systems or M-Bike lanes for a total cost of RM61.7 million (S$17.8 million).
The Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex at the Sultan Iskandar Building will have 44 such lanes.
Meanwhile, the Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB) of the Second Link Crossing in Iskandar Puteri will have 33.
Furthermore, there are plans to build halls, upgrades and carry out new projects at KSAB, amounting to RM106.9 million (S$30.8 million).
The construction of a covered pedestrian walkway along the Causeway is reportedly also in the works.
Number of travellers expected to return to pre-pandemic figures
Datuk Seri Fadillah said that the incentives for Immigration Department officers is in line with the Madani Malaysia framework, reported Malay Mail.
In addition, there will be further discussion to extend them further to Immigration Department officers in Sabah and Sarawak.
Source: Malay Mail
Explaining the reason for the upgrades, Datuk Seri Fadillah noted the expected increase in travellers entering the country via the Malaysia-Singapore land crossings. He estimated the increase to be at a rate of 15% yearly. By 2025, the figure could stand at 157 million travellers.
As of last month, 98 million travellers reportedly crossed the Malaysia-Singapore crossings.
Datuk Seri Fadillah said that this number will be expected to return to pre-Covid 19 figures, increasing to about 136 million by the end of this year.
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