This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 14, 2024 - October 20, 2024

THE competition for an urban mobility infrastructure project to serve the southern Johor region is set to intensify as telecommunications and technology company, Theta Edge Bhd (KL:THETA), has switched over to a rival consortium. This move strengthens the grouping consisting of LBS Bina Bhd (KL:LBS), Ancom Nylex Bhd (KL:ANCOMNY), Sinar Bina Infra Sdn Bhd and BTS Group Holdings pcl, according to some quarters.

The addition of Theta Edge is expected to allow the consortium to compete more effectively against a rival group made up of YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR), SIPP Rail Sdn Bhd, Mobilus Sdn Bhd and Lion Pacific Sdn Bhd.

Previously, the YTLP–SIPP–Mobilus–Lion Pacific consortium was perceived to have the upper hand as it had proposed an automated rapid transit (ART) system for the Greater Johor Bahru region that was “preferred” by the state government.

“The state government wants an elevated ART system for [Greater] JB as it is more cost effective and can be constructed in a much faster way, compared with an LRT,” says a source who is privy to the matter at the state government level.

“This is because, as the Johor-­Singapore RTS (Rapid Transit System) is being completed by 2027, the state needs an immediate solution to disperse the traffic that is going to use the RTS to travel between Johor and Singapore,” the source adds.

Last Monday, Theta Edge announced that it would be partnering Nylex (M) Bhd — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ancom — in the proposed Mobility-as-a-Service project for the Johor Bahru metropolitan region. Mobility-as-a-Service consists of an LRT system for the city, complemented by ART lines.

It is unclear why Theta Edge decided to “switch camps” but it had previously been known to be part of the SIPP-YTL-led consortium. There was no response to questions sent to one of its major shareholders by press time.

The LBS–Ancom–Sinar Bina–BTS consortium had proposed an 11.3km LRT line between the Bukit Chagar station (located close to a planned new Immigration Customs and Quarantine [ICQ] facility) — where it would interchange with the RTS — and Taman Tasek on the western side of the city. The consortium had not proposed a system beyond this initial stretch.

However, the state government prefers a wider system that encompasses the entire urban agglomeration of Greater JB.

According to another source, a committee consisting of various state and federal government agencies was formed to look at the existing infrastructure in southern Johor and how to improve its urban mobility.

This committee had apparently come up with seven recommendations for the consideration of the Ministry of Transport (MoT).

“MoT had already submitted the findings to the cabinet to be deliberated. I am not sure whether a decision has been made, and whether the Ministry of Finance has allocated a sum to kick-start the projects in the upcoming 2025 Budget,” says the second source.

Representatives from the state government, the state’s Works Department, as well as representatives from MoT and the Public-Private Partnership Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office sat on the committee. Its recommendations include upgrading the existing Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) rail line between Kulai and Johor Bahru into a commuter rail line.

Other recommendations were for four urban mobility lines (whether ART or LRT) and an East-West line between Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port in Pasir Gudang by upgrading the existing cargo rail line owned by KTMB into a commuter rail line.

The committee also recommended the use of buses as first-and-last-mile connections.

The four urban mobility lines proposed are from Iskandar Puteri to Johor Bahru (Iskandar Puteri Line), Tebrau to Johor Bahru (Tebrau Line), Skudai to Johor Bahru (Skudai Line) and a line within JB city itself, for which LBS–Ancom–Sinar Bina–BTS had proposed an LRT system.

An LRT system can typically carry between 12,000 and 30,000 passengers PHPD (per hour per direction). The LRT Johan Setia Line is designed to have 18,630 passengers PHPD during peak hours, according to an MoT projection in 2018.

Less well known is ART, a relatively new system developed by Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Corp Ltd in 2017, and since implemented in Zhuzhou, Yibin and Shanghai. In essence, ART is a bus with a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system that allows the vehicle to read markings on the roadway.

A bus rapid transit (BRT) system can carry between 9,000 and 30,000 passengers PHPD, depending on the configuration of the buses, minimum headway and whether they will run on a dedicated lane. ART is seen as not that much different from BRT, as it is a bus with LIDAR.

Either system is suitable for the southern Johor region, as the RTS is expected to carry 10,000 passengers PHPD. However, the LRT system that is being proposed by LBS–Ancom–Sinar Bina–BTS would only have a capacity of 4,000 passengers PHPD, the project proponent said in a previous interview with The Edge.

The reason for the low capacity proposed by the JB LRT proponent is perhaps to minimise the capital expenditure needed for the project by reducing the number of train sets as the proponent is proposing 10 three-car train sets for JB LRT.

In contrast, the Kelana Jaya Line in the Klang Valley operates on around 60 two- and four-car train sets during peak hours. Its average daily ridership up to Oct 4 was 266,152 passengers, which translates into 22,179 passengers per hour, or 11,090 passengers PHPD.

Note that the passenger traffic is not evenly spread out during the day, as most passengers use public transit during peak hours in the morning and afternoon. According to Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, the Kelana Jaya Line is operating at 101% of its current capacity, as at Oct 4.

With Theta Edge now in the LBS–Ancom–Sinar Bina–BTS consortium, the collaboration would also contain an ART proposal on top of the JB LRT as Theta Edge is proposing ART for the three lines radiating from Johor Bahru (Skudai, Tebrau and Iskandar Puteri).

Meanwhile, the YTLP–SIPP–Mobilus–Lion Pacific consortium has proposed a full ART system in the southern Johor region, partly riding on Mobilus’ experience in implementing the Kuching Urban Transport System (KUTS).

Mobilus is a joint venture between Ireka Corp Bhd (KL:IREKA) and CRRC Urban Traffic Co Ltd, a unit of CRRC. Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation, is the project owner of KUTS.

The first phase of KUTS is currently being developed. It consists of three transit lines — the Blue Line (Rembus to Hikmah Exchange), Red Line (Kuching Sentral to Pending) and Green Line (Pending to Damai Central) — covering a total distance of 69.9km over 35 stations.

With a budget of RM6 billion, KUTS Phase 1 is expected to be operational by end-2027. Considering the project only started in 2022, the construction is moving rather fast, as it is expected to be operational around the same time as the Klang Valley’s LRT3, which started construction in 2018 and at 37km in length, is shorter than KUTS Phase 1.

“This is why the [Johor] state government wants an ART — it is cheaper and faster to be developed. Although since the requirement is for an elevated track for the segment within the city, this is only 10km or 11km out of the entire system,” says one of the sources The Edge spoke to.

The Skudai, Tebrau and Iskandar Puteri lines are expected to run on dedicated train at-grade with the road networks.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.