PUTRAJAYA: Resolving the traffic congestion at the Malaysia-Singapore Causeway and Second Link is a priority for Malaysia, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
He said the issue remains a major problem for Malaysia and Singapore commuters.
“Currently, about 250,000 to 300,000 people are crossing the causeway on a daily basis. Resolving the congestion is a priority for Malaysia,” he told a joint press conference with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the conclusion of the 9th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat, here.
Mahathir said Malaysia and Singapore were committed to addressing the issue and will continue to explore new initiatives to tackle the problem.
“These include improvements in physical infrastructure, review of inter-boundary policies and regulations and improvement in the quality of cross-border services,” he said.
Lee, meanwhile, said Mahathir had pointed out that the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link would not solve the problem for motorcyclists crossing the Singapore-Malaysia border, and hence there is a need to expand the capacity of the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facilities on both sides.
“Singapore has plans to expand our CIQ further and these things will take some time but we will eventually make a significant plan to solve the problem,” he said. — Bernama
