PETALING JAYA: Phase One of the Putrajaya MRT line, which is scheduled to start operations next month, is in line with the government’s aim to help the Malaysian Family, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The Transport Minister said the completion came at a time when it was crucial to speed up the recovery of the national economy, with more expected to return to their workplaces as additional economic sectors open up.

He said the completion of the section, which stretches 17.5km from the Kwasa Damansara MRT Station to the Kampung Batu MRT Station, will allow many workers to get back to their daily routines.

With the launch of the Phase One Putrajaya MRT Line, which is at 99.99% construction progress, the entire Klang Valley rail network will get nine new stations, linking commuters to new places like Kepong, Jinjang and Kampung Batu.

Dr Wee said for the opening of Phase One, there will be a total of 12 stations, including three migrated from the Kajang MRT line.

“The journey from the Kwasa Damansara MRT Station to the Kampung Batu MRT Station will take 24 minutes.

“The remainder of the Putrajaya MRT line is scheduled to be operational under Phase Two in January 2023 with the construction progress currently at 93.5%.

“The whole Putrajaya MRT line is 57.7km and there will be 36 operational stations in total, with an estimated ridership of 104,000 passengers daily,” the minister told a press conference after inspecting the Hospital Kuala Lumpur MRT Station yesterday.

Phase Two stretches from Kentonmen MRT Station to Putrajaya Sentral MRT Station.

The Putrajaya line is the second line of the Klang Valley MRT project, the first being the MRT Kajang line which opened in July 2017.

The RM30.53bil Putrajaya MRT line alignment is 57.7km long, with 44.2km being elevated tracks and 13.5km as underground tunnels, with 27 elevated stations and nine underground.

Dr Wee said the project completion will bring the Urban Rail Development Plan to yet another milestone and raise the standards of transport and living to residents in the Klang Valley.

He said public transportation would also ease the highway gridlock and result in lower greenhouse gas emissions, moving in line with Malaysia’s carbon-neutral by 2050 commitment.

He expressed his admiration at the ability of local experts and talents in the construction of the underground alignment of the Putrajaya Line, which was built within tunnels.

“It touches me to hear that we have all these local experts in various fields forming a talent pool in seeing through the construction of this project,” he said.

Dr Wee said the progress of the Putrajaya MRT line was praiseworthy because despite the Covid-19 pandemic causing economic problems and setbacks, the contractors and sub-cons were still able to commit to the civil and system works, and kept working under the strict standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the government.

“My thanks and kudos to MRT Corp Sdn Bhd, the turnkey contractor MMC Gamuda KVMRT (PDP SSP), and all work package contractors and other project vendors who have kept on despite all the challenges,” he said.

He also said that as the country moved towards economic recovery, the safety of passengers must still be top priority and the Covid-19 SOP must be followed, adding that the ministry would ensure that public transport operators enforced the guidelines strictly.