GKL/KV Aspires To Be Among Top Liveable Cities Globally By 2020

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- The Greater Kuala Lumpur/ Klang Valley (GKL/KV) National Key Economic Area (NKEA) aspires to be among the top economic and livable cities in the world by 2020. Given that the city is expected to be home to 10 million people in 2020 from six million in 2010, it creates the need for a comprehensive and sustainable development plan that can adequately address the challenges of rapid urbanisation. This is stated in the National Transformation Programme Annual Report 2015 prepared by the Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) released Tuesday. Recognising the need to enhance the reach of urban rail in the Klang Valley, the report said the government had invested US$8.18 billion (RM32 billion) to construct the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 1 which extends from Sungai Buloh (subdistrict of Petaling Distric in Selangor state) to Kajang (town in Selangor) and which will serve up to 1.2 million people once the service commences by end-2016. "The MRT Line 2 which pass through Serdang and Putrajaya is expected to serve a corridor of two million people, and the construction is targeted for completion in the second quarter of 2022," it said, adding, both lines would significantly improve the mobility in the GKL/KV area. The report said efforts under the National Key Results Areas (NKRA) Urban Public Transport had also increased connectivity through initiatives such as the Malaysian Railway (KTM) Kommuter, Light Rail Transit (LRT) Kelana Jaya and the LRT Extension Project (LEP). On bus initiatives, the report said 2015 saw Malaysia's first ever Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), with the BRT Sunway benefiting a population of 500,000 within a 5.4km radius in Subang Jaya. Meanwhile, the free city bus initiative, namely GO-KL, with its zero-rate and 15 to 20 minutes frequency, had also benefited 40,000 passengers in the city of 1.7 million. -- BERNAMA