KUCHING, Jan 10: The Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) depot in Rembus, Kota Samarahan to be built on an 80-acre site will have facilities like feeder bus depot, hydrogen production plant, stabling yard, administration and operation control centre, mechanical workshop, infrastructure workshop and refuelling facilities.
Construction work was officially launched in December last year, starting with advanced works for the Rembus depot and marking the commencement of Phase 1 of the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) Project by Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd (Sarawak Metro).
KUTS Project director Zafrin Zakaria said Sarawak Metro’s hydrogen powered feeder buses will operate within a 3km radius from ART stations to complement the ART in providing the first-mile and last-mile connectivity.
“SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd, another wholly-owned subsidiary of SEDC (Sarawak Economic Development Corporation), has been entrusted to construct and operate the hydrogen production plant next to the ART and feeder bus depot, to ensure sufficient supply of green hydrogen for the ART and feeder buses operation,” he said in a media release today.
He highlighted this during his presentation at the Sustainable Future Conference organised by Curtin Academy at the Curtin University, Malaysia campus in Miri, today.
While Sarawak Metro focuses on providing a modern and reliable public transportation system for Greater Kuching, Zafrin added that it also aims to add value to the project by creating a platform for the transfer of technology and know-how through its Socio-Economic Enhancement Development (SEED) Programme and the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) approach, to generate greater economic opportunities for local businesses.
“A few locations along the alignment had already been identified as potential TOD areas and these included areas near the Pending station and the interchange station at Simpang Tiga.
“As for the SEED Programme, the three key focus areas are the assembly plant and localisation initiative; the centre of excellence initiative, and the readiness programme initiative,” he explained.
Sarawak Metro is developing three lines under Phase 1 of the KUTS Project, namely the Blue Line from Rembus in Kota Samarahan to Hikmah Exchange in Kuching city covering a distance of 27.6km; the Red Line from Kuching Sentral to Pending (12.3km); and the Green Line from Pending to Damai Central in Santubong (30km).
Zafrin highlighted that the proposed routes for the three lines totalling 69.9km will be constructed mostly at road level (at-grade), while less than 20 per cent of the alignment will be elevated.
Apart from easing traffic congestion in Greater Kuching, the aim of developing a modern public transportation network is also to support the government’s future development plans, said Zafrin, citing the Green Line as an example of aligning the goals of the project with the aspirations to realise the full potential of the Damai Peninsula Master Plan, which will be implemented by SEDC.
“The ART will support the major development in this seaside resort area and we expect greater ridership demand in the area in the future,” he added. — DayakDaily
