The Star Online: Metro: Central
The Star Online: Metro: Central |
| Posted: 28 May 2013 04:23 AM PDT THE construction of the first line of Klang Valley My Rapid Transit (KVMRT) Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line will be entering the next phase next month when the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) is put to work in Jalan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur. Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd project director Marcus Karakashian said the assembly of the machine was almost completed in the Cochrane Launch Shaft, which was excavated to a depth of 30m as part of preparatory works. During a media briefing on the MRT, Karakashian said about 120,000 cubic metres of soil and rock had to be excavated to create the shaft, which was equivalent to the volume of 50 Olympic-size swimming pools. "The TBM is the first variable density machine in the world designed to handle the karstic limestone conditions found in the eastern part of Kuala Lumpur. "The excavation work will begin from Jalan Cochrane towards Pasar Rakyat station (over 1km) and is expected to be completed by mid-2014," said Karakashian, adding that tunnelling work would be carried out round the clock. He said another TBM was being assembled at the Semantan Portal site at Jalan Duta. This is an Earth Pressure Balance TBM, which will be used to excavate the more consistent geological formation found in Kenny Hill, the western part of Kuala Lumpur. "From the Semantan Portal site, the TBM is expected to make its way under Jalan Damansara to the future KL Sentral MRT station in front of Muzium Negara. "Excavation will go on under Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, past the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station to the future Pasar Seni MRT station, a distance of 2.7km," said Karakashian. There will be a total of 10 TBMs, which will be paired to excavate specific stretches of the underground alignment. On key achievements to-date, Karakashian said all civil works, both elevated and underground as well as systems contract, had been awarded. "There are still remaining contracts for eight multi-storey carparks (two of which have been awarded) and other works for signage, lighting and furniture," he said. In addition, the construction of all seven underground stations were on-going. On the construction of piers, Karakashian said 15 of the total 1.400 piers to be built under the project had been constructed on Contracts Viaduct 5 and Viaduct 6. He added that the installation of the first launching gantry at Bandar Tun Hussein Onn had been completed. The gantry, he explained, would be used to lift the segmented box girders (SBGs) into place, which would be lifted on piers to form a one-piece viaduct. The second gantry installation is in progress at Sri Sabah Flats in Cheras. Along with that, he said the construction of both Sungai Buloh depot and Kajang depot were in progress. The train design has also been finalised and a mock-up will be ready for media preview soon. Overall progress of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line is 14%. MRT Corp chief executive officer Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said as at end of April, MRT Corp had awarded 64 out of a total of 87 work packages, with four packages currently in the tender process. The awarded contracts are worth RM20.77bil. "We want to ensure the work timeline is the shortest. People are generally unhappy with the closure of the slip road at the end of Jalan Maarof, but this will be resolved when it is opened in two months' time," said Azhar, assuring that MRT was committed to ensuring the impact of construction was minimised. On the project's impact on Medan Damansara residents, Azhar clarified that safety had been given top priority since the project started in 2011. "We are strengthening the slope behind the houses in Medan Daman-sara to safeguard the properties before actual work starts on the viaduct," said Azhar. He added that Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd — MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang operator — was tasked to ensure other security issues. "Just like the current LRT services offered by Prasarana, features such as lighting, CCTV and patrolling by security guards will be implemented," said Azhar, adding that safety of the public, especially that of women using the 'park-and-ride' facilities would be its priority as well. Azhar said among the main challenges faced included managing impact of construction work on traffic, residents and business operations near construction sites. "Traffic management plans, which are approved by the authorities, have been implemented to ensure the impact on traffic flow is minimised. "This includes ensuring all detours or realignment of roads maintain the same number of lanes as the original road and lane closures on busy roads only take place during off-peak periods," said Azhar, adding that installing signage to warn motorists and pedestrians were part of the plan. In addition, MRT Corp's contractors had to ensure that noise and dust levels were within the permitted range set by the Environment Department. Azhar said once the project was completed in December 2016, accessibility to the stations was a major concern. "This is where the feeder bus system comes in. Prasarana will implement a feeder bus network when the MRT starts operating. This will serve residential areas located near stations," he added. Azhar said another priority was ensuring the train service was modern. "Commuters want to stay connected. In view of this, the facilities provided include WiFi services on trains and stations and user-friendly ticketing systems," he said, adding that the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line would integrate fully with the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines as well as the monorail, where users can change lines without having to buy new tickets or walk through different sets of fare-gates. Azhar said they anticipated that the move to bring in quite a number of foreign workers for the project would give rise to social issues. "In the past, civil contractors house workers in the cheapest accommodation possible and more often, they end up living with residents in low-cost housing areas, which is not healthy. This affects the environment and major social issues arise, particularly crime. "MRT is providing centralised labour quarters for its foreign workers," he said, adding that the foreign workers include those from Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and India. "The living quarters come with cabins, which are equipped with three double-bunk beds, fans and a wardrobe for each worker. "There is also a cafeteria which provides two meals a day and a centralised kitchen for those who wish to prepare their own food, apart from a futsal court, a clinic and shops," said Azhar. He added that the labour quarters in Cheras and Sungai Buloh were fully operational, while two more in Jalan Cochrane and Kajang were under construction. He said various government agencies had praised the company for setting a new standard in housing for construction workers. "Movement in and out of the quarters is being monitored by ex-army and police personnel. Every worker entering the quarters will have to go through a face recognition system and pass scanner," he said, adding that visitors were given temporary access cards. Also, the workers were taken to the work sites by bus on a daily basis. Azhar said the quarters would also be used to house workers for the MRT Lines II and III. |
| Posted: 28 May 2013 04:26 AM PDT THE Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) will continue functioning as usual, despite being short of three councillors. Two councillors — R. Rajiv and Ng Sze Han — had resigned to contest in the recent GE13. Rajiv and Ng are now the assemblymen for Bukit Gasing and Kinrara respectively. "The vacant councillors' post will be replaced," said MPSJ assistant corporate director Azfarizal Abdul Rashid. "MPSJ will only be able to carry out the process of swearing in new councillors when we get the names from the Selangor state government. For now, the existing councillors will bear the duties of the two who resigned." A total of 23 councillors were appointed for the 2013 term, although MPSJ has slots for 24 councillors. The 2012/ 2013 term for councillors expires in December. Azfarizal said the committee meetings would proceed as usual, as the quorum for such meetings to take place includes MPSJ officers and other related personnel, such as representatives from government agencies. Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh said MPSJ councillor Ken Chia, in charge of Zone 2, would be helping to cover Zone 1 that was previously headed by Rajiv, while fellow councillor Chang Kim Loong helps out informally too. Meanwhile, Ng said MPSJ councillor Tai Cheng Heng would take over Zone 23 from him. Zone 1 includes SS12 to SS19, and Taman Wangsa Baiduri in Subang Jaya. Zone 23 covers Taman Serdang Raya, Taman Serdang Perdana (Sections 1 to 6) and Taman Muhibbah in Seri Kembangan. "I hope the new state government will make fresh appointments as there are many vacancies," said Yeoh. "It would be good if the government reappointed all existing and new candidates to streamline their term of service." This, she said, would enable the new councillors to familiarise themselves with their duties, while the existing councillors could carry on with their tasks. "I also hope that MPSJ staff and senior management can improve on MPSJ's delivery services," said Yeoh. "They should not wait for councillors to follow up on basic services like garden waste collection, pothole patching and drain cleaning." Despite shouldering additional responsibilities, both Chia and Tai said it would not pose a problem for them. "The existing Zone 1 Residents' Committee (JKP) has been around for about seven years, and the members are experienced to run the committee," said Chia. "Our job as councillors is to serve as a link between MPSJ and residents, including facilitating approval for community and infrastructure grants, and channelling information to residents." "In addition to the JKPs functioning well, the councillors for the Seri Kembangan area have been working closely and helping each other all this while," said Tai. Chia said Rajiv's resignation was a big loss, as one of Rajiv's key responsibilities was on MPSJ policies and guidelines. Chia has also taken over Rajiv's portfolio in the Urban Services Committee, while the other two portfolios on One-Stop Centre and Finance have been reassigned to other councillors. Tai said he had taken over Ng's portfolio in the Infrastructure Committee, while Ng's two other portfolios on Finance, and IT and HR have been reassigned to other councillors. Chia said there had been a mutual understanding among MPSJ councillors that each held a maximum of three portfolios, although the present situation was an exception due to the shortage of councillors. |
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