Residents on both sides of the Singapore-Johor Causeway know too well the heavy congestion that often plagues it. Folks who travel by motorcycle, especially, have probably found themselves in massive traffic jams at the land checkpoints.
However, it seems like the Malaysian government will soon be addressing this issue, judging from a RM741.3 million (S$222 million) budget they approved recently.
The sum will apparently be for the upgrading of both checkpoints connecting to Woodlands and Tuas.
Upgrades will include infrastructure and system improvements that will hopefully ease the frequent jams and allow for smoother commutes.
On Tuesday (7 Mar), Malaysian politician Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh announced the upcoming improvements on his Facebook page.
He shared that this decision came fresh from a special committee meeting chaired by Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof. The committee was specifically set up to address the congestion issues that have been plaguing the causeways.
Source: Fazli Salleh on Facebook
During the meeting, Deputy Minister of Finance I Ahmad Maslan confirmed the approval of the RM741.3 million (S$222.1 million) sum to improve the Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex.
Of this amount, the government will set aside RM96.2m (S$28.8m) for upgrading works this year, including the construction of 50 new motorcycle lanes at the two checkpoints.
Among the 50 new lanes, 25 will take travellers out of Malaysia while the remaining 25 will be in the opposite direction. These will be on top of the existing 100 motorcycle lanes.
With 150 lanes for motorcyclists to travel in and out of Johor, the authorities hope that congestion will decrease considerably.
Perhaps in light of the overwhelming congestion after travel resumed, the Malaysian government is proposing a slew of improvements for the two checkpoints connecting Johor and Singapore.
Recently, for example, they proposed a Single Entry Point that would require travellers to clear customs only once, either in Johor or Singapore.
Citing Mr Fadillah, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the government has approved the proposal in question. However, they would still need to form a technical task force and discuss the feasibility of such a system with Singapore’s authorities.
Since the plans seem to still be in the discussion stage, there doesn’t appear to be a solid timeline for the upgrading works yet.
Nevertheless, we hope that the proposals will eventually come to fruition to ensure smoother commutes for everyone.
Will you be looking forward to the changes? Let us know in the comments.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Simply Enjoy Johor.
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