When the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link between Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia gets underway by 2018, commuters would need to clear immigration only once for each way of travel.
That’s because the Singapore-Malaysia Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia has agreed to set up a co-located Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facility in Singapore and another in Johor.
This was revealed as details of the 7th meeting of the joint committee were released in a statement on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak agreed to jointly develop the RTS Link between Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia at their retreat in May this year.
The Joint Ministerial Committee - chaired by Mr Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, and Mr Mah Bow Tan, Singapore’s Minister for National Development - agreed to carry out a joint engineering study.
This is to determine the technical parameters for the RTS Link in order to achieve a convenient and cost effective system that is well integrated with transport services on both sides.
The statement also said the joint committee noted that cross-border traffic at the Second Link has gone up with the reduction of toll charges since August 1 this year.
The number of new Malaysia Automated Clearance System (MACS) users has also increased significantly to more than 30,000 for the first 10 months of 2010.
The joint committee also noted that concrete progress has been achieved in several areas of bilateral co-operation.
On the iconic wellness township project in Iskandar Malaysia, the committee reported that Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Temasek Holdings have made several site visits to Iskandar Malaysia.
They are actively discussing and working out a commercially viable proposal for the township and to launch it in May 2011.
Meanwhile, a new framework for cross-border sharing of information on lost and stolen passports has also been put in place to enhance border security.
The Joint Ministerial Committee will meet again in the first quarter of next year to review the progress of the joint Work Groups.
