KUCHING, Nov 30: Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd (Sarawak Metro) has awarded Hock Seng Lee Bhd (HSL) the contract for the construction and completion of the advanced works for Rembus Depot, which is the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) depot located in Kota Samarahan.
HSL’s bid was among the seven tender submissions that Sarawak Metro received at the close of the tender exercise on July 25, 2022.
In a press statement today, Sarawak Metro said the contract, valued at RM64.3 million, is for the construction and completion of the advanced works for the Rembus Depot for the Blue Line, which is under Phase 1 of the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project.
The advanced works for the Rembus Depot, which started this month, also marks the start of physical construction works for Phase 1 of the KUTS Project.
The Rembus Depot will also be the site of the depot for the KUTS’s hydrogen feeder bus fleet, as well as SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd’s hydrogen production plant.
Other facilities to be built there include the hydrogen refuelling facility, stabling yard, test track, automatic wash plant, mechanical and infrastructure workshop, and administration building.
The Rembus Depot is scheduled to begin operation in the fourth quarter of 2025, coinciding with the opening of Stage 1 of the ART passenger service for the Blue Line.
Sarawak Metro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), has been entrusted by the Sarawak Government to implement the KUTS Project, which will be implemented in phases; starting with Phase 1, for the development of the Blue Line, Red Line and Green Line.
The Blue Line will be from Rembus to Hikmah Exchange in the city centre, covering a distance of 27.6km, while the Red Line is from Kuching Central to Pending, covering 12.3km.
The Green Line is from Pending to Damai Central in Santubong, covering a distance of 30km.
The backbone of the KUTS project is the introduction of the ART vehicles, which are powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
The ART will be supported by a network of feeder buses, which will provide the first-mile and last-mile connectivity for the KUTS.
The feeder buses will also be powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Passenger service for the ART is scheduled to be introduced in stages, starting from the fourth quarter of 2025.
So far, Sarawak Metro has awarded the contracts for System Package 1 and System Package 2 of the KUTS Project in July and this month, respectively.
The System Package 1 contract is for the supply of the rolling stock, which is the hydrogen-powered Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) vehicles, depot equipment and maintenance vehicles (DEMV), signalling and control system (S&CS) and automatic platform gate (APG).
As for System Package 2, it is for the supply of Telecommunication (Comms); Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA); Automatic Fare Collection (AFC); Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS); Operation Control Centre (OCC); and Information Technology System (ITS). — DayakDaily
