KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — The Ampang Park mall will not be demolished as originally planned if all its owners agree to a new design option for a proposed train station there, Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) said today.
MRT Corp said it had unveiled this revised design at its latest meeting this Tuesday with the iconic mall’s management corporation and those who owned the mall’s individual strata titles.
“MRT Corp maintained that the mutual agreement should be concluded and signed by 31 January 2016 to enable this option to take effect and to avoid Ampang Park Shopping Complex from being demolished,” it said in a statement today.
MRT Corp said it had explained in the meeting that a mutual agreement needs to be inked with the owners of all 253 strata titles of the Ampang Park mall to meet the legal requirements for the construction of an MRT railway tunnel and an underground passage.
“This is to enable the underground land, which is common property belonging to all strata unit owners, to be surrendered to the government so that the underground walkway and MRT tunnels can be built,” it said.
It advised all the owners to form a pro-tem committee, which will appoint a lawyer to negotiate on behalf of them with MRT Corp.
In Malaysia, landowners own both the rights to the surface and underground land in the same land title, with past MRT station developments resulting in some landowners giving up their rights to their underground land while keeping their building intact.
In a media briefing last Tuesday to clear the air over the controversial Ampang Park mall issue, MRT Corp had explained that the decades-old building had to be fully demolished to ensure that the planned MRT station with five storeys fully underground could be built safely in a seven-year process.
Today, MRT Corp said it had sought out alternative options where both the Ampang Park mall would not have to be demolished and where commuters would still be able to have a convenient transfer between the MRT and Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines, following meetings with the mall owners and management corporation on October 15 and October 27.
In its alternative design option, MRT Corp said it will build the Ampang Park MRT station slightly away from the mall, while an underground walkway linking both the future MRT station and existing LRT station and tunnel for the MRT trains to pass through will be built under the mall.
Under this revised design, commuters will have to take a longer walk when switching between the MRT and LRT trains at Ampang Park, as they have to cover 220 metres instead of the originally planned 130 metres passage.
MRT Corp said it will also strengthen the Ampang Park Shopping Centre’s foundation by using the “underpinning” method to modify the building which started operations in 1973, adding that this will ensure the underground walkway is constructed safely.
During construction of the MRT station according to the revised design, MRT Corp said it will only need certain areas of the mall’s basement carpark for a maximum of 36 months and certain areas of its ground floor for a maximum of 18 months.
MRT Corp said it will pay compensation for the temporary closure of these affected areas for MRT construction works, adding that unaffected shoplots in the mall may continue to operate as usual.
It said the Ampang Park MRT station is a crucial stop along the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line, as it will be the only point where it meets the Kelana Jaya LRT line and where commuters can switch between the two lines.
According to MRT Corp's timeline for the Ampang Park station construction, the firm plans to have the site in its possession by April 2016.
Construction work for the Ampang Park MRT station is scheduled to begin next year and end by July 2022.
