ALOR STAR: All the land for the RM12.

5 billion Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified double-track

railway project is expected to be acquired soon.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said only 16 of the 1,300 land acquisition cases
remained unresolved.

He said disagreement over the amount of compensation was the main reason for the delay which
involved 11 commercial premises and five houses.

"The Transport Ministry is working closely with the main contractor of the project to acquire all
land for the project and we would resolve the matter soon.

"I am confident that the 329km railway track would be completed as planned in December
2013," he told reporters after a visit to check on the project in Kedah yesterday.

Kong said he was satisfied with the progress of the project.

The track, which cuts across four states -- Perak, Penang, Kedah and Perlis -- in the northern
region, is a Federal government initiative to improve inter-city rail transport.

It involves replacing an existing single-track line linking Ipoh in Perak and Padang Besar in
Perlis. The new track is designed to cater for electric train sets with speeds of up to 140km/hour.

MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd, a partnership between MMC Corp Bhd and Gamuda
Bhd, is the contractor.

Read more: Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified railway project on track

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/22land/Article/#ixzz10J9wv9T2

Malaysia: Ipoh-Padang Besar Railway Project On

Track
2009-03-11 15:11
TAIPING, MALAYSIA: The Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified railway double track project worth RM12.485
bilion is expected to be completed on schedule despite the global economic slowdown, said Transport
Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

He said the project ubdertaken by MMC-Gamuda JV was proceeding smoothly in Perak, Kedah, Penang
and Perlis and is expected to be completed in 2012.

"It is an alternative form of transportation that is convenient and safe compared to highway use and would
reduce road fatalities.
"With the completion of the project the rail transportation system is expected to be more economical and
competitive while passenger numbers would go up by 10 times," Ong told reporters after launching the
drilling for the Larut Tunnel which is 300m long with a height of 10m and width of 13m at Air Kuning near
here.

The project is part of the master plan to develop the public transportation system in the country and is an
extension to the railway system in the Klang Valley, the Rawang-Ipoh and Seremban-Gemas lines.

He said railway services would attract more users and be more popular after the existing trains were
replaced by faster trains at the end of next year.

Ong said all obstacles to this end had been identified and the matters of squatter resettlement and
compensation would be resolved soon.

"Although many employers had retrenched workers in the economic crisis now this project created 7,000
jobs and would create 6,000 more soon," he said.

Besides that the project provided work for 305 sub-contractors in the four states involved while 95
contracts were offered to building materials suplliers and other businesses over the next five years.

"The project can provide down-line work of more than RM10 billion," he said.

Besides the Larut Tunnel, the project has a longer tunnel of 2.9km at Bukit Berapit, Padang Rengas on
which work would start soon. (Bernama)
Ipoh - Rawang Railway Project In Malaysia Siemens
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