KUALA LUMPUR: Work to redevelop Kuala Lumpur Sentral (KL Sentral), a major hub connecting several modes of transport, is expected to start by the end of this year, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.
The redevelopment, said Loke, was necessary since KL Sentral had seen "tremendous" growth in the past 20 years and the area had become congested.
"The government is of the view that there is a pressing need to not only add value to KL Sentral but also look into ways to reduce congestion in the area.
"We want the area to be redesigned, rebuilt, and repurposed so that it becomes sophisticated. We hope after the redevelopment has been completed, there will be better traffic flow in the area.
"Negotiation between Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) and the Public-Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) is ongoing to redevelop KL Sentral. We expect that the physical project (on KL Sentral redevelopment) will begin by the end of this year," he said after opening the 30-storey Menara RAC here today.
Present was the ministry' secretary-general, Datuk Jana Santhiran Muniayan, who is also chairman of Railway Assets Corporation (RAC).
"The main issue with KL Sentral is that the congestion in the area is extremely bad. The situation in the area worsened when Electric Train Service (ETS) passengers arrive there (to travel into or out of Kuala Lumpur).
"Such a situation will be looked into in our plan (to redevelop KL Sentral)," he said.
Asked if the KL Sentral redevelopment would see increased frequency of public transport services, such as buses and Light Rail Transit (LRT), Loke replied in the affirmative.
"If there is a request, we will definitely increase the frequency. We have increased the frequency of the LRT Kelana Jaya line, which passes the KLCC area, to three minutes," he said.
Last year, the cabinet approved the proposal to redevelop KL Sentral to ease the congestions of commuters and vehicles.
Transport Ministry had proposed that the RM1 billion redevelopment cost would be borne by MRCB as the primary developer.
Loke had said the redevelopment would not have any financial implications to the government.
He had also said the redevelopment would not impact public transport services, such as the LRT, KTM and ETS.