By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, March 20: Minister for Transport Sarawak (MOTS) Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin expects the proof-of-concept (POC) exercise for the region’s hydrogen-powered autonomous rapid transit (ART) to be conducted in the third quarter of 2023.
Lee told reporters this at a press conference following a briefing on ‘Ships Survey and Proposal in Sarawak’ by the Ship Classification Malaysia (SCM) today at a hotel in Kuching.
“Earlier this month, a technical team from my ministry and I visited the ART manufacturer in China, along with representatives from Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), and the Public Works Department (JKR).
“The hydrogen-powered ART, which we will be creating in Sarawak, is already ready.
“We had a test drive in China, which ran well, but we want to improve it. We rode the hydrogen ART for an hour,” he said.
He went on to say that the first stage of the POC exercise was recently completed in China on March 15.
“They (CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Company Limited, ART vehicle manufacturer) will ship the (prototype) vehicle over to Sarawak; hopefully, by July or the third quarter of this year, we can have the POC done here in Sarawak,” he added. — DayakDaily
