JOHOR BARU: Johor is confident of further reducing the daily traffic congestion time at the Causeway and Second Link, says Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
The Mentri Besar said continuous efforts by government agencies involved had resulted in the reduction of traffic congestion time by at least two hours each day.
“I am thankful we have been able to disperse the traffic effectively and I am confident that we can save another hour of congestion by the end of the year,” he said before presenting keys to homeowners of the Johor Affordable Housing Project (RMMJ) at the Senibong Indah Apartments, Tanjung Senibong here yesterday.
He added that previously, the traffic jam could last up to four hours to cross the 1km Causeway.
“When we tackle such legacy issues that have plagued the people for decades, we are also giving confidence to investors and tourists,” he said.
He added that each day, some 450,000 people travelled through the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ.
About 300,000 commuters – who have to get up at 4am to head into Singapore for work – pass through the BSI alone, he said.
Onn Hafiz had on June 22 said all issues plaguing the CIQs at BSI and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar in Iskandar Puteri were expected to be mitigated by end of September.
He said the state also remained committed to improving Johor’s connectivity, especially in improving services at the two CIQ complexes.
The Johor-Singapore Causeway is currently one of the busiest border crossings in the world.
On a separate note, the Machap assemblyman also said that the state aimed to build 30,000 RMMJ units in the next five years.
“Previously, the state government’s target was to build 21,702 units of affordable houses in the next five years, but I have now given a new challenge of building 30,000 units.
“I think it is achievable as there is a high demand for RMMJ units and I want the focus to not just be in Johor Baru. More RMMJ units should be built in other districts such as Batu Pahat, Muar, Pontian, Segamat, Tangkak and Kota Tinggi,” he added.
