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By Karen Bong and Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Aug 6: The newly unveiled Hikmah Exchange, situated on Jalan Haji Taha, is set to become the future home of the station for the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) service.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari highlighted that this development will bring about a transformative change in Satok, evolving it into a contemporary urban centre.
“It will become a central hub for the Malay community supported by the Chinese community as well as the Iban and other Bumiputera communities. Together, they will further stimulate development and economic growth around the Satok area,” he said when launching the Hikmah Exchange last night (Aug 5).
Abang Johari added that the current Padang Pasir Parking Lot in the city would become the central Kuching ART station, serving as the initial departure point and key interchange for the upcoming Kuching urban public transport network.
“Interestingly, this location holds historical significance as it once housed a train station. This train centre was renowned for its locomotives, ‘Bulan,’ ‘Bintang,’ and ‘Jean’.
“As such, our first hydrogen-powered autonomous public transport vehicle in the Asean region will be named ‘Bulan’. Our efforts and approach to transformation have been recognised as extraordinary, and therefore, Satok is also an extraordinary area,” he added.
The ART system’s scope will extend to Samarahan, encompassing Serian and Gedong through to Rembus.
Meanwhile, the ART prototype vehicle from China has arrived at Senari Port Terminal today.
The three-carriage vehicle will undergo assembly at the warehouse in Senari Port Terminal. The assembly work is expected to take two weeks to complete prior to undergoing an engineering run at the Isthmus area starting Sept 1.
Subsequently, a Proof-of-Concept (POC) exercise is planned for November along a section of the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway stretching three-kilometre built between two roundabouts that have been converted into smart traffic light junctions.
During the engineering run and the POC exercise, the prototype ART hydrogen vehicle would not be accessible to the general public for rides. — DayakDaily
