Aug 6, 2008 By IVAN LOH
A NEW RM30mil bus terminal with environmentally-friendly landscaping is being planned for Bandar Meru Raya in Jelapang, Ipoh, after years of delay.
State Education, Local Govern-ment, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming said the project would be completely different from the one proposed earlier.
The terminal, he said, located on a 4.8ha plot next to the Jelapang North-South Expressway (PLUS) toll, will have a garden and surrounded by trees instead of a concrete fencing.
He said the greenery surrounding would make the terminal more pleasant.
Nga said they were in the final stages of negotiating with a consortium of bus operators on the proposed terminal.
“The consortium will fund the entire project,” he said.
If all goes well, the project will start at the end of the year. It will take two years to build the terminal.
Nga also said the consortium would also have to replace the aging city buses with 300 new vehicles, which were estimated to cost some RM180 million, to complement the terminal.
“With the new terminal, buses and new routes within the Kinta Valley, we hope to encourage more people to use public transport.”
He said the whole purpose of having a terminal next to the toll plaza was to enable express buses from Penang or Kuala Lumpur have quick access to Ipoh instead of having to enter the city and get caught in traffic jams.
Perak Omnibus Operators Association president Yeoh Choo Hoon, during its annual dinner on Friday, thanked the state government to let the operators plan, build and manage their own terminal.
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