KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — The Johor state government has reportedly proposed a third ferry service between the southern state and Singapore.
The additional ferry service is meant to ease travel, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi told English daily The Star.
“The route we proposed is between Puteri Harbour and Tuas.
“However, we will need approval from the Transport Ministry first before further talks can be held with Singapore’s Transport Ministry,” he was quoted as saying.
The existing ferry services are between Tanah Merah and Desaru Coast and between Tanah Merah and Tanjung Belungkor, he added.
Finding a solution for the traffic congestion between Johor and Singapore remains a top priority for the state and federal governments, he reportedly said.
“We are all aware that this is not something that just happened today as the problem has been there for decades,” he was quoted as saying, referring to the congestion at the Causeway.
All relevant agencies in four zones at the Johor Causeway will be merging their counters to create a single clearance system, he added.
The federal government has also implemented other initiatives such as expanding the use of e-gates to Singaporeans and the increase of motorcycle lanes from 50 to 75 each way, he told the daily.
The issue was among the matter he had discussed with Singaporean ministers during his recent visit there, he reportedly said in response to a question from Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Andrew Chen Kah Eng at the state assembly sitting.
Besides that, he said that the state government will soon be coming up with a mechanism for supporting the use of electrical vehicles (EV) in Johor.
He was quoted saying that a plan was needed on the matter and that the state government will work closely with local governments to achieve it.
“I will discuss with state secretary Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani the need to have a mechanism which will involve industries that could support our strategy (on EV) in years to come,” he was quoted as saying.
He reportedly added that during a discussion with Singapore’s Transport Minister S. Iswaran, the latter revealed that Singapore will stop the registration of vehicles that run on petrol by 2030.
In February, Onn Hafiz said that the Johor government will prioritise several solutions to improve connectivity between the state and Singapore to benefit the over 300,000 commuters who use the two land border crossings daily.
The Johor Causeway is considered one of the busiest land border crossings in the world, with more than 300,000 Malaysians working in Singapore and commuting daily from Johor Baru.
