Southeast Asia’s urban areas are flooded with heavy traffic, causing major issues for daily commuters and affecting business in the region. As per TomTom statistics, Bangkok and Jakarta are amongst the most congested cities in Asia. The situation is expected to get worse at the current pace of rising population in Southeast Asia. Research by ASEAN Up says that the number of inhabitants in the region is expected to increase by more than 100 million to reach over 720 million people by 2030. In view of this, the region has now taken up the task of rehabilitating old infrastructure and developing new means of transport such as mass rapid transit (MRT), high speed rail and light rail transit (LRT) systems.

Southeast Asia Infrastructure gives a brief account of the key ongoing and planned LRT projects in the region…

Bali, Indonesia

In January 2020, the Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation and the Korea Rail Network Authority (KRNA) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Indonesia-owned Nindya Karya to develop an LRT system in Bali. The project has been planned to ease congestion around I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport and provide a reliable mode of transportation. The LRT line will span 4.78 km with four stations between a would-be satellite terminal in Kuta and the airport. The line will be developed at an estimated investment of $400 million. The project will resemble the Jakarta Metro MRT. The construction works were scheduled to begin within three months of the signing of the contract, with completion scheduled for 2022. Apart from the Bali LRT project, the KRNA has also provided $500 million to finance the development of an LRT system, connecting the velodrome facility in Rawamangun in East Jakarta with Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta.

Klang Valley, Malaysia

The third LRT system in the Klang Valley, the Bandar Utama-Klang Line, is currently under development in Malaysia. A joint venture of the Malaysian Resources Corporation and George Kent, MRCB George Kent (MRCBGK) was contracted to deliver design and construction services for the project in September 2015. The 37.6 km long LRT-3 line is being developed to link Bandar Utama with Johan Setia in Klang via a 35 km viaduct and a 2 km underground tunnel. When completed, the line will be one of the components of the Klang Valley integrated transit system. The construction of the project commenced in 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by February 2024. MRCB George Kent aims to complete more than 40 per cent of the project by end 2020. As of February 2020, the civil and system works of the project have achieved 31 per cent and 15 per cent completion respectively. The project cost was earlier increased to MYR 31.65 billion ($7.75 billion), which has now been brought down to MYR 16.63 billion ($4.07 billion) by changing the project implementation model from project delivery partner to a fixed price contract regime in February 2019. The LRT line is part of the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley (GKL/KV) Land Public Transport Master Plan of the Land Public Transport Commission to provide connectivity to the western part of GKL/KV. It is expected to benefit 74,000 passengers and 500,000 residents across the alignment. Additionally, the development of the project is also expected to boost economic growth in the region.

Jakarta, Indonesia

PT Adhi Karya, the developer of the Greater Jakarta LRT or Jabodebek LRT, is currently implementing the project in the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta. As of May 2020, the construction progress for Phase 1 stands at 71.2 per cent. The Jakarta LRT project has been planned to tackle high road traffic congestion in the city. Phase 1 of the project involves construction of the entire Line 2 (Cawang-Bekasi Timur) and a part of Line 1 (Cibubur-Cawang-Dukuh Atas). The first phase is expected to cost IDR 11.9 trillion (approximately $903.6 million). It will be 43.3 km long, consisting of 18 stations. The construction of Phase 1 commenced in September 2015. The operations were initially targeted to begin in 2019; however the project has been delayed for two years due to funding, restructuring and land acquisition issues. The project is now due for completion by June 2022. The second phase of the project, currently under planning, will extend Line 1 southwards from Cibubur to Bogor Baranangsiang.

Metro Manila, Philippines

The Japan International Cooperation Agency estimates that Metro Manila loses around 3.5 billion pesos every day because of congestion and its ageing transport network. The loss is expected to rise to 5.4 billion pesos by the year 2035 if the current situation continues. To tackle the problem of congestion and obsolescence of the transport network, a number of projects are being undertaken including an LRT project. A joint venture of Ayala Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments is undertaking the extension of the existing 20 km LRT Line 1 by 11.7 km at a cost of 30 billion pesos. The partial operability of LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project Phase 1 is scheduled to begin by end 2021. The remaining stations between Las Piñas and Niog in Bacoor, Cavite, will become fully operational by 2022. The project aims to increase LRT-1’s ridership from 500,000 to 800,000 per day and reduce travel time between Baclaran and Bacoor, Cavite, from 1 to 2 hours at present to about 25 minutes. The operating agency for LRT Line 1 is the Light Rail Manila Corporation, owned by the Metro Pacific Light Rail Corporation, AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines), Inc.

Phuket, Thailand

The Phuket LRT project has been proposed between Phuket airport and the Chalong intersection, with a total of 21 stations along the way. The project will cover a total distance of about 42 km. While 30.2 km of the line will be developed at the ground level, 2.7 km will be elevated and 9.1 km will be constructed underground. The project will be a public-private partnership project with an estimated total budget of 34.5 billion baht – 26 billion baht for construction, 1.5 billion baht for land reclamation and the remaining for operations. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed in 2024. However, as of December 2019, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand has announced temporary suspension of the development of the Phuket project. Further studies have been sought to assess the various aspects of the project such as travel behaviour of residents and estimated numbers of tourists expected to visit Phuket in the future. According to the authority, the estimated ridership is one of the major aspects of the project that needs to be revised. However, the suspension is expected to have no impact on the bidding process of the project, which has been planned for end 2020.

The way forward

Rising urban population has exposed the age-old transportation infrastructure in the countries. It has become extremely crucial for the governments to provide cheap and efficient transport facilities. The success of LRT systems worldwide due to their practicality and lower capital and operational costs has made them an attractive alternative for Southeast Asian countries. However, various ongoing and planned projects are currently facing bottlenecks due to lack of proper planning and poor project management, resulting in delays in several major transit projects. Further, delays due to land acquisition and cost overruns also remain key issues affecting the timely completion of these projects. However, quality pre-feasibility assessments, coupled with the use of advanced technologies, adequate management and proper financial planning, are expected to go a long way inthe successful implementation of these projects.