Transport Minister Anthony Loke has announced that the federal government will provide funding to finance the Elevated Autonomous Rapid Transit (E-ART) project in Johor.
He extended that; the detailed method of financing, actual financial commitment and the repayment mechanism over the concession period are still at the negotiation level.
“Basically, the project’s financing at the initial stage will be borne by the appointed consortium. However, current assessment results show that this mega-infrastructure project is not viable if it depends entirely on private sector financing.”
“As such, the federal government will provide funding to finance the cost of this project,” he said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on 2nd July 2026.
He was responding to Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong’s (BN-Ayer Hitam) question about the Johor E-ART project’s implementation status.
Dr. Wee had enquired whether the federal government’s commitment would be made through direct funding or a concession model involving the private sector, as well as traffic congestion projections once the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link begins operations in January 2027, before the E-ART project is completed.
Loke stated that the agreed-upon terms will be submitted to the Cabinet for review and approval before the concession agreement is signed, and that the E-ART project is expected to be completed within four years of the letter of acceptance.
He also stated that the Transport Ministry, in collaboration with the Johor government, has developed a traffic dispersal plan to strengthen the existing public transport system, including the BAS.MY service network, which will be expanded to 28 routes and 254 buses, including electric buses.
He added that the Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) 2.0 programme will dedicate 157 buses to the Johor Bahru (JB) Sentral and Bukit Chagar routes, which are scheduled to begin in early 2027.
“The ministry is also working to procure 12 KTM Komuter Southern train sets. While awaiting approval, we launched the Shuttle Selatan service connecting Kulai-Kempas-Johor Bahru and Kempas-Pasir Gudang on June 16, with a capacity of 14 trips daily,” he said.
In response to a supplementary question from Rusdan Rusmi (BN-Padang Besar) about whether the ministry intends to establish a fare ceiling policy for public transport projects, Loke stated that fares for all public transport projects are still under government control.
“When we control fares, the project becomes less competitive and requires government funding. So that is what the government will do. We hope that public transport can continue to be enjoyed by the public at the lowest possible cost,” he said.
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