Metro

Wednesday July 29, 2009

Curious case of a bridge to nowhere

By GEETHA KRISHNAN


TOURISTS to Putrajaya are told that the garden city, which is also the federal administrative capital, has eight bridges.

There has, however, always been curiosity over the ninth bridge in Precinct 4.

The structure was indeed built as a bridge but it was intended for the delayed Putrajaya Monorail project.

Described as the missing link in the developing public transport network in Putrajaya, the project has been hanging in the balance since 2004 when it hit a snag due to federal budget constraints.

Sill in the works: A sign for one of the 26 stops drawn up for the Putrajaya Monorail network outside the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

The network blueprint was to have two monorail lines, 13.2km for Line 1 and 6.8km for Line 2. What is ready is Phase 1 with a 9km track and a 4km underground tunnel with seven stops.

The planned 26 stops included the Putra Mosque, the Education Ministry, Putrajaya Hospital, the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, the Alamanda Shopping Centre and Precincts 9 and 14.

Seven park-and-ride facilities were designed to complement the monorail service to allow public servants and visitors to travel freely within Putrajaya.

The monorail was also meant to integrate with the Express Rail Link (ERL) service running from KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur to the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.

In a recent interview with StarMetro, Federal Territories Minister Senator Raja Datuk Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said: “There will be a need for it in the future, especially when Putrajaya develops further,” but added that it would depend on the economy recovering.

Initial costs were estimated at RM400mil but this was five years ago. With the bridge, elevated track and tunnel slowly succumbing to the ravages of time and weather, the initial cost will balloon but the new figure has yet to be released.

Sill in the works: A sign for one of the 26 stops drawn up for the Putrajaya Monorail network outside the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

Contents of the feasibility report prepared by an independent consultant which conducted a three-month study last year remain off limits while the population count in Putrajaya is at 55,000 and rising.

Perbadanan Putrajaya (PPj) president Tan Sri Samsudin Osman has been a strong advocate for the project and has repeatedly urged the government to reconsider its move to delay the project.

“Putrajaya needs a world-class public transportation system with foreign missions set to open their doors here.

“There is also an international school,” he said, adding that 18 foreign missions have inked agreements with PPj for land parcels.

Most of the civil servants interviewed declined to give their names but felt that the monorail system would benefit Putrajaya in the long run as it was the new federal administrative capital.

By banking on the monorail and bus network in its masterplan, Putrajaya offers limited parking space to reduce the number of cars on its roads.

The Core Island where the Palace of Justice is based alongside several ministries such as Finance, Entreprenuerial and Cooperative Development, Agriculture and Agro-based Industries and Federal Territories only offers 30% parking space.

In lieu of the monorail situation, more parking spaces have been opened up.

The new 1,403-bay facility near the Express Rail Link (ERL) station in Precinct 7 complements the acute shortage at the P&R facility in Precinct 1. More bays will also be available in Precincts 13 and 14.

PPj has also made plans to beef up its bus service with 104 more buses bought with the RM70mil allocation under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

A growing population and residential precincts that are either fully developed or at an advanced stage of development will benefit from this.

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