Malaysia's Infrastructure and Utilities

[nazrey]

Work on Penang Sentral project to start next year
Sunday July 20, 2008, TheStar

Construction of the RM2bil Penagn Sentral project will start in the first quarter of next year, said Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

He said the transportation hub for Penang and the Northern Corridor, comprising an integrated terminal for rail, road and sea travel, would be constructed in two phases with the first to be completed in 2011.

“The first phase is the transportation hub while the second phase is the commercial hub.

“The completion of the second phase depends on the viability (of the project) but I think it may be completed before 2015,” he said after launching the Penang Sentral temporary bus terminal here yesterday.

Nor Mohamed said the first phase comprised terminal lanes for buses and taxis and several floors of retail space.

“We would unveil the conceptual plan during the ground breaking ceremony. The plan has yet to be approved by the Seberang Prai Municipal Council,” he said.

Earlier, Nor Mohamed said the completion of the RM5mil temporary terminal was a sign that the Federal Government was committed in providing an efficient and quality public transport to the masses.

Nor Mohamed added that the Penang Sentral project had long been discussed even before it was included as a Northern Corridor project.

The construction of the bus terminal which began in August 2007 was completed in January. It has 28 bus platforms and 46 taxi bays to handle up to 4,500 passengers per day.

[nazrey]

Bridge project right on schedule
TheStar



Ongoing project: A general view of the casting yard
for the second Penang bridge in Batu Kawan Wednesday.

NIBONG TEBAL: The second Penang bridge will be completed in 2011 as scheduled, and the cost will be RM4.5bil.

UEM Group Berhad managing director and chief executive officer Ahmad Pardas Senin said the commonly quoted figure of RM3.6bil was only for the cost of the construction of the bridge over water.

This did not take into account the RM900mil needed to construct the 7km expressway linking it to the North South Expressway.

He explained that there was a price fluctuation clause to account for price changes in building materials and it did not necessarily mean that the final cost would be higher than the estimate because the clause took into consideration prices of building materials going up or down.

Ahmad Pardas said he believed that without the fluctuation clause, no organisation would be willing to start any construction because it would definitely be running at a loss.

“We are committed to completing the job by the end of 2011,” he told a press conference at the project site office here, after a site visit with the media yesterday.

He said the cost of building the bridge now stood at RM4.585bil, including RM285mil in development cost.

“The price of steel has increased by 60% and while fuel went up by 40%. The cost of building the bridge has only gone up by 10.4%,” he said.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had last month asked the Federal Government to explain why the cost of the second Penang bridge project had ballooned from RM2.7bil to RM4.5bil within a year, saying that an explanation was necessary because Penangites would eventually have to bear the expense through toll rates.

Ahmad Pardas clarified that the original cost for the whole project was RM3.6bil and not RM2.7bil as reported in the media.

He said work to build the bridge had not stopped since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony in November 2006.

The project is undertaken by UEM and Chinese Harbour Engineering Company, which holds a 51% stake and the rest by UEM.

Ahmad Pardas said UEM would spend RM57mil to acquire about 113ha of land belonging to individuals and the Penang Development Corporation for the project.

[nazrey]

Originally Posted by nazrey

Johor



JB Sentral
Johor Bahru





JB Sentral Terminal is sited on the northeast of the existing Johor Bahru Railway Station on KTMB land.

The JB Sentral was designed to upgrade the existing railway station at Johor Bahru in response to the increasing demand of rail commuters.

New bus and taxi pick up points are provided along Jalan Jim Quee to enhance this new rail station.

Two (2) multilevel car parks (comprising 726 car parking bays) are situated over both sides of the JB Sentral to provide parking facilities for the entire project.



As part of the new gateway, the JB Sentral will be located along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak. The new rail station sits over new tracks that will be connected to a swing bridge to cross the Straits of Johor to Singapore.

Update:
JB Sentral entrance
by xeoc





PROGRESS PHOTOGRAPHS OF JOHOR BAHRU SENTRAL
From http://gsb.jkr.gov.my

[snow is red]

Malaysian infastructure look quite impressive.

[nazrey]

Sarawak to build 12 dams to meet future power needs
Wednesday July 23, 2008, By TEH ENG HOCK and ROYCE CHEAH, TheStar


PETALING JAYA: Sarawak plans to build 12 hydroelectric dams to meet its future industrialisation needs.

The move has got environmentalists up in arms, questioning the need for the dams and the planned development of the state. They also suggested that Sarawak's national park may be threatened.

However, Deputy Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said the dams were necessary to meet energy demands.

They will be located at Ulu Air, Metjawah, Belaga, Baleh, Belepeh, Lawas, Tutoh, Limbang, Baram, Murum and Linau rivers. The plan will also see an extension to the Batang Ai dam.

All these are in addition to the 2,400MW Bakun dam and will push the total generating capacity in the state to 7,000MW by 2020, an increase of more than 600% from the current capacity.

The plans were in a presentation entitled Chinese Power Plants in Malaysia – Present and Future Development in October last year at the China-Asean Power Cooperation and Development Forum in Nanning, China.

The 48-slide presentation has been made available on the Internet.

Chinese companies were expected to design, build and commission the dams, the presentation said.

The Murum Dam project is scheduled to begin this year with a memorandum of understanding already signed between the Sarawak Energy Board and China Three Gorges Project Corporation.

It also said a detailed study on the Batang Ai extension was already under way while a feasibility study had commenced at Limbang and a pre-feasibility study had started at Baram.

Currently, Sarawak’s energy output is 933MW and it does not need any more energy.

However, there are plans to expand the aluminium-smelting industry in the state which will need the planned output. Furthermore, the Bakun dam’s 2,400MW was originally meant for peninsular Malaysia.

According to media reports, the Sarawak Government has already approved the building of an aluminium smelter by local company Press Metal Bhd.

Others which have shown interest includes China’s Luneng Group, Smelter Asia Sdn Bhd, Alcon Inc, Mitsubishi Corp, BHP Billiton Ltd and Australia’s Rio Tinto.

Centre for Environmental Technology and Development Malaysia chairman Gurmit Singh expressed concerns over the plan.

He said the proposal to build the dams and then look for energy-guzzling industries to use the energy was wrong.

He questioned how the building of the dams were related to the national energy policy.

“This is also a typical example of the ‘not in my backyard’ mentality where a country puts its polluting industries in other countries,” he said.

Salang said the 12 dams were necessary as consumption was projected to increase with the development of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.

He said the dams would only be approved if they passed their environmental impact assessment.

He added that he did not expect the projects to materialise any time soon although the plan was to complete all dams by 2020.

[nazrey]

Source : TheStar

[nazrey]

First Solar opens first Asian facility in Kedah
By Marina Emmanuel Published: 2008/07/23, BusinessTimes



US SOLAR module maker First Solar Inc is looking to increase the local content of products made at its first Asian facility in Kedah.

Its president Bruce Sohn said yesterday that the company aims to increase its local procurement activities over time.

At present, the Kulim-based First Solar Malaysia Sdn Bhd sources less than 10 per cent of materials directly from up to three local suppliers.

"It took three years for suppliers in Germany to qualify to be our vendors for our manufacturing facility in that country where we currently source up to 50 per cent of our parts from local firms," Sohn told reporters after Kedah state executive councillor Amiruddin Hamzah opened the first of four solar module-making plants for the company at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park.

Also present yesterday were Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) director-general Datuk Jalilah Baba and Kulim Technology Park Corp group chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Shukri Tajuddin.

In his speech, Sohn said First Solar's RM2.2 billion investment in Malaysia will create more than 2,000 jobs in management, engineering, accounting, human resources and factory operations when all four plants are fully operational.

"The Malaysian government has granted First Solar a multi-year income tax holiday, while Mida is supporting cross-training for the workforce at First Solar's facilities in the US and Germany," he added.

Sohn said the company aims to use its advanced thin film module technology and manufacturing capabilities to enable cost-effective solar electricity to be deployed worldwide.

The company, through its solar modules, provides an economic alternative to peak conventional electricity and fossil fuel dependence, greenhouse gas emissions and peak-time grid constraints.

"When all our four plants are complete, First Solar will have 16 production lines - the most we have anywhere in the world," its vice-president for manufacturing Heiner Eichermueller said.

"That will represent more than 70 per cent of our worldwide capacity and, since all our plants have identical run rates of 45 megawatts per year, Malaysia alone will account for 720MW per year at full capacity," he added.

[nazrey]

Federal Government to help revive funicular service
Saturday July 19, 2008
TheStar

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Government will help finance the project to repair and revive Penang Hill's funicular service, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said the hill resort was a tourist attraction and a heritage site for Penang, adding that there was no other such uphill train service in the region except in Hong Kong.

He said this after launching Hydrofuel, a gadget to help reduce fuel consumption in vehicles by 50%.

Penang Hill's funicular service was shut down for an undetermined period on June 25 for maintenance work. The repairs are expected to cost RM2mil.

[nazrey]

Funicular service upgrade reinstated in 9MP
Sunday July 20, 2008
TheStar

BUTTERWORTH: The project to upgrade Penang Hill’s funicular service has been reinstated into the Ninth Malaysia Plan, said Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

“I am very pleased to announce that it has been reinstated and this shows the attention given by the Federal Government.

“It is such a valuable heritage and I have been told that when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was a child in Alor Star, his father used to bring him here to sit on the train during school holidays.

“The train service evokes strong feelings for everybody, for all of us Penangnites,” he said, adding that he and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had on separate occasions pleaded to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi to reinstate the RM40mil project.

He added that the Penang ferry service, now operating from 6am to midnight, may be extended round-the-clock on weekends and public holidays. He came up with the proposal after noticing the traffic jams as one lane of the Penang Bridge had been closed for upgrading works.

He said Penang Port Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Ibnihajar has promised to look into the suggestion.

[jorgemed]

wow, malaysia is so great, i'm jealous...

[nazrey]

'500km gas pipeline project on track'
By Zuraimi Abdullah Published: 2008/07/24,BusinessTimes


The estimated RM390 million gas pipeline project to channel gas from Kimanis in Sabah to Bintulu in Sarawak is on schedule, says Petronas president

THE 500km gas pipeline project linking Sabah and Sarawak and 300-megawatt gas-driven power plant in Sabah are on, the chief of national oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) says.

"At the moment, it (gas pipeline project) is on schedule," Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican told reporters after Petronas Gas Bhd's (PetGas) annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

A Sabah Barisan Nasional component party had asked the state government to insist that Petronas call off the project to channel gas from Kimanis to Bintulu in Sarawak.

United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said it should be stopped to encourage downstream processing of gas pumped from offshore fields along Sabah's west coast.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had reportedly told Sabah BN component party leaders at a meeting on May 31 that the project would be stopped.

On June 11, however, Petronas vice-president of gas business Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin was quoted as saying that the estimated RM390 million project would proceed and that it was due for completion by March 2011.

Hassan said Petronas would operate the pipeline, while the project would be carried out by production-sharing contractors.

The gas would be channelled to Petronas' liquefied natural gas complex in Bintulu.

Hassan also said that the power plant in Kimanis would be jointly built with Yayasan Sabah.

"It is very much in line with the gas pipeline project," he said, adding that the plant's development cost could not be deter-mined as yet.

On another note, Hassan (pic) said he did not foresee the gas price hike as having any major impact on PetGas since it is both a supplier and a user.

He said PetGas would talk to its customers to defray some of the impact of costlier gas.

PetGas expects things to be a bit more challenging financially as, according to Hassan, its effective tax rate is now on par with everybody's.

The company enjoyed tax incentives in recent years, but its tax expense increased ninefold to RM301.2 million in the financial year ended March 31 2008 from RM34.2 million the year before.

[nazrey]

Chinese firm tipped to get Malaysia rail job-report
Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:39pm EDT

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Reuters) - The China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) is likely to get contract for a railway track project in Malaysia, estimated at 9 billion ringgit ($2.8 billion), a Malaysian newspaper reported on Saturday.

The Edge newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said the state-controlled Chinese firm is likely to be the main contractor for the Gemas-Johar Baru double-tracking railway project.

"A source says the CREC will likely be the main contractor for the project with the sub-contracts being dished out to the local companies to build the double track that cover(s) an estimated 197 km," the newspaper said.

The double-tracking project, which includes other segments as well, was originally planned some 8 years back, but was shelved a month after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over on Oct. 31, 2003, the paper said.

However, all the segments, except this stretch, have been revived in recent months, it said. (Reporting by Faisal Aziz; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

[nazrey]

MMC-Gamuda Signs Contract With Government For RM12.485 Bln Double Track Rail Project
July 25, 2008 18:23 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd today signed the Condition Of Contract with the Government for the RM12.485 billion electrified double tracking railway project from Ipoh to Padang Besar.

MMC-Gamuda is a 50:50 joint venture company between MMC Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd, said Gamuda in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

The company did not disclose further details.

In a separate statement, MMC Corporation said the contract was expected to contribute positively to the earnings of the MMC Group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2008.

-- BERNAMA

[nazrey]

New Limbang Airport (before opening), Sarawak
Limbang is a border town and the capital of Limbang District in the Limbang Division of northern Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo.

by Bill Timmins

image hosted on flickr

[nazrey]

Suria Capital wins RM8.5m KTM job
31 Jul 2008 10:46 AM, THEEDGEDAILY

PETALING JAYA: Suria Capital Holdings Bhd has won an RM8.5 million job from Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTM) to build additional signalised railway crossings.

Suria Capital said yesterday the project would be built on the rehabilitation of the Sabah railway project from Tanjung Aru to Tenom. It is scheduled for completion on Feb 12 next year.

Suria Capital expects this project to contribute positively to its earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2009.

[nazrey]

Sarawak-Brunei-Sabah Inter-State Bus Service To Be Launched
July 31, 2008 17:15 PM

PUTRAJAYA, July 31 (Bernama) -- A maiden inter-state commercial bus service involving the Miri, Bandar Seri Begawan and Kota Kinabalu routes will be launched in September to facilitate easier movement of people and goods in Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said the launch of the service was under the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cross-Border Movement of Commercial Buses and Coaches which was signed last year.

He said the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the operation of commercial buses and coaches in that route were being finalised.

"We are confident that this initiative would further stimulate cross-border movement of people in the BIMP-EAGA," he told reporters after chairing the Third BIMP-EAGA Transport Ministers Meeting here today.

The MoU on cross-border movement of vehicles allows for cross-border carriage of passengers by buses and coaches between member countries, as well as in transit, through other member countries on designated disembarkation points or routes.

Transport ministers of the four Asean countries also signed another two MoUs -- on Expansion of Air Linkages and the Establishing and Promoting Efficient and Integrated Sea Linkages - which brought a more conducive environment and liberalised framework for intra-EAGA transport operations.

The BIMP-EAGA region was established in 1994, as a sub-regional economic grouping with the objective of enhancing trade, tourism and investment in the area.

On the expansion of air linkages, Ong said AirAsia was planning to launch the Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan route, Kuching-Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Lumpur-Manado (Indonesia) route this year.

He said they were pleased to note the resumption of the Davao (Philippines) to Manado (Indonesia) route by Wings Air of Indonesia, and the commitment of Philippines to resume its flight between Zamboanga (Philippines) and Sandakan by August, as well as operate new services between Zamboanga and Kota Kinabalu by December this year.

Under the MoU for sea linkages, Ong said their transport officials had begun exchanging information on the respective port facilities development and policies and practices for non-convention vessels or ships.

-- BERNAMA

[nazrey]

Electrified double-tracking project from Ipoh to Padang Besar
Source : http://www.mmc.com.my/pdf/Investor-P...3_IR_Final.pdf

[nazrey]

New railway station for Kuala Kangsar
Monday July 28, 2008, TheStar

A NEW railway station will be built in Kuala Kangsar near Kampung Simpang Tiga Talang under the on-going RM12.4bil electrified double-tracking project from Ipoh to Padang Besar.

Kuala Kangsar district officer Datuk Mohd Gazali Jalal said the existing railway station in Jalan Sultan Idris would be turned into a museum.

He said project developer Gamuda MMC Joint Venture was working on the design of the new station.

Mohd Ghazali said the affected families occupying the land would be compensated based on a rate to be determined by the Property Valuation Services Department.

The Land and Mines Department would be assessing the land value so that landowners would be compensated accordingly, he added.

Commenting on a fear voiced by Kg Simpang Tiga Talang village chief Norahim Omar that the quantum of compensation would be low considering that the affected houses had been built on agriculture land, Mohd Gazali said:

“If they are not satisfied, they can refer the matter to the High Court,” he said.

Norahim had recently said that at least 11 ancestral homes would have to go under the move.

On complaints by Jalan Kolam Air residents who did not want a railway flyover to be built in their area, Mohd Gazali said the district office had discussed with Gamuda – MMC over the matter.

The affected residents had claimed that the area already had two flyovers and a new one was therefore unnecessary.

[nazrey]

Rail project to cut KL- Penang journey to just three hours
Thursday April 3, 2008, By ZULKIFLY MOHAMAD, TheStar



All systems go: Piling works being carried out for the electrified
double-track rail project at Simpang Ampat in Nibong Tebal yesterday.

BUTTERWORTH: It will only take three hours to travel from Penang to Kuala Lumpur by train when the electrified double-track project (EDTP) is completed.

Once operational, commuters can have breakfast in Penang, lunch in KL and return to the island for dinner, all in the same day. Currently, the train journey between the destinations takes about nine hours.

The RM12.4bil stretch from Ipoh to Padang Besar, undertaken by MMC-Gamuda, is now 5% completed and expected to be ready on Jan 7, 2013. It will link up to the Rawang line.

“Once completed, modern trains with heavier loadings can run on the flatter, straighter alignment at a speed of up to 160kph,” said MMC-Gamuda JV Project director Datuk Azmi Mat Nor.

He said RM10bil had been invested in double tracking the Klang Valley and from Rawang to Ipoh.

“The EDTP can be the backbone for future commuter services in the northern area, similar to the Klang Valley commuter services,” he added.

“It will only take about 90 minutes to travel from Penang to Ipoh by train when the project is completed, compared to about four hours now,” he told newsmen during a site inspection yesterday.

Azmi said the alignment for the 329km Ipoh-Padang Besar double-track project cuts across the four northern states of Penang, Perak, Kedah and Perlis.

“We are working closely with the four state governments and they are very helpful,” he said.

“We do not foresee much problem for the next five years as 70% of land needed for the project is owned by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB).”

Azmi said rail transport in the country currently had a market share of just 3%, compared to road transport which commanded 89% share.

“Over-reliance on road transport is unsustainable, especially during congestion on expressways and festive seasons,” he added.

Azmi said that up to RM3bil worth of construction packages had been awarded to contractors, of which RM1.6bil had been given to deserving bumiputra contractors. About 700 sub-contractors were involved in the project.

He said a further RM2bil worth of projects would be awarded in stages.

Azmi said the EDTP was an extensive infrastructure project which would transform the existing single-track line from Johor Baru to Padang Besar to electrified double tracks, covering a distance of 968km.

[nazrey]

Malaysia And Singapore To Study JB-Singapore City Rail Viability
August 04, 2008 18:30 PM
By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Aug 4 (Bernama) - Malaysia and Singapore today agreed to carry out a more detailed study on the commercial and legal aspects of the rail linkages plan that will smoothen travels between Johor Baharu and the city-state.

This was agreed upon by both sides at the 3rd closed-door meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) for Iskandar Malaysia (IM) held at a hotel here.

The one-day meeting was jointly chaired by Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz and Singapore's Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan.

Also present at the meeting were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim who were JMC members.

Malaysia and Singapore now have three options in the rail plan, with the first one being a dedicated shuttle rail link, the second is that the train ends in Singapore and the third, the train stops in Johor Baharu.

An official with Malaysia's Economic Planning Unit told Bernama that the technical study to be done by the Joint Work Group on Transportation under the JMC would look into the feasibility and commercial viability of the rail links options.

Upon completion, the study would be tabled at the 4th JMC meeting in the first quarter of next year, the official said.

The JMC also noted the efforts and initiatives made to facilitate operational management of cross border traffic, exemption of certain transportation regulation requirements and increased reciprocal recognition of national motor vehicle regulations.

The committee also reviewed the progress made so far by the three other Joint Work Groups on Immigration, Tourism and Environment.

On immigration, the EPU official said Malaysia reported that it would need between six to eight months to look into the security and legal aspects of the smart card before it could be introduced for travel between the two cities.

The smart card project is the Malaysian initiative under the JMC, and the official said Malaysia hoped to launch the smart card in the first quarter of next year.

On environment, the official said Singapore agreed to offer technical expertise and advice to Johor Baharu in cleaning up its three dirtiest rivers, namely Sungei Segget, Sungei Tebrau and Sungei Skudai.

The official said Sungei Segget would be the first to undergo cleaning up this year as not only its action work plan was completed but it was the shortest river among the three.

For Sungei Tebrau and Sungei Skudai, the cleaning up would be done next year but first, the Joint Work Group needed to prepare its work plan for JMC approval, the official added.

On tourism, both countries agreed to carry out joint promotion activities, and for a start, Singapore would bring in Malaysian media to the city to promote the Formula One car night race which it is hosting for the first time ever next month.

In response, Malaysia would arrange a trip for Singaporean media to the mangrove swamps which are in abundance in Iskandar Malaysia's natural reserve areas.

Later, Amirsham and Abdul Ghani called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at his office at the Istana here.

-- BERNAMA