MRT SSP line marks the nation's will: Najib

PUTRAJAYA: The groundbreaking ceremony of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line today marks the nation's will to ensure that the Klang Valley steps up with other cities as world class and liveable says, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
"As such (upon completion), I would like to stress the importance of reliability in the usage of all forms of public transport in the country.
"We must make sure that customer satisfaction is at its highest," he said in his speech when officiating the line here today.
Present at the event were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri yed Hamid Albar, Chief Secretary to the Government and Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) chairman Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa and MRT Corp CEO Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar.
Najib also highlighted the government's achievement in developing the second MRT Line five years after launching the first, the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line, as it showed his administrative focus on developing good public infrastructure for the people.
"We had earlier not focused enough on the development of public transport.
"This lack of focus has unfortunately led us to suffer some of the consequences today, with traffic congestion not only in the Klang Valley but in many cities and even highways outside this area," he said.
The Prime Minister also congratulated all parties involved in the MRT including MRT Corp and MMC Gamuda as the project delivery partner along with other sub-contractors for being able to deliver the projects on time and within target cost.
The latest venture by MRT Corp will have a 52.2km line to support 37 stations, including two proposed stations at Technology Park and Taman Universiti.
The line, stretching from Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya, includes a 13.5km underground track to support 11 of the stations.
The project will cost RM32 billion, which is RM9 billion more than MRT's first SBK Line, due to the longer underground track besides several expansion works to both lines.
Phase One of the SSP Line, between Sungai Buloh and Kampung Batu station, is expected to be operational by July 2021, while the entire line is expected to be ready by July, 2022.
The SSP line will run from Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya through Kepong, Batu, Jalan Ipoh, Titiwangsa, KLCC, Tun Razak Exchange, Bandar Malaysia, Sungai Besi, Serdang, UPM and Cyberjaya.
Once operational, the MRT SSP Line is expected to have a daily ridership of 529,000 passengers.
The first phase of the SBK Line from Sungai Buloh to Semantan stations will begin operations in December, while the remaining route from Semantan to Kajang stations will be operational next July.
The RM23 billion project, which spans 51km, will have 31 stations and is currently 89% completed.
Meanwhile, in his latest posting on his Facebook page today, Najib said he wants all ministries and government agencies to study the proposals made by the public on the #Bajet2017 website.
The prime minister said this was needed as many suggestions that came from the people at large via the special website were related to the ministries.
"These are the views and opinions of the 'rakyat', all need to take note," he said.