THE public will get their first taste of Sarawak’s modern transit system when the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) begins its pilot operation in the fourth quarter of this year.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said that the highly anticipated pilot route will run from the Rembus Depot in Samarahan to Northbank in Stutong, offering the rakyat a firsthand experience of the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system ahead of its full commercial launch in 2027.
“More importantly, this pilot phase will serve as a critical operational testing period to identify and address any technical, operational, or service-related improvements required before full system commissioning,” Lee said in his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today (May 18).
He said that this trial phase underscores the Sarawak government’s dedication to delivering a public transport system that is safe, reliable, and fully optimized before it is rolled out on a larger scale.
To support the upcoming pilot operations, Lee said the state is slated to receive four ART units and 10 hydrogen feeder buses this year following its final acceptance inspections for the ART vehicles have already been successfully concluded, with all units meeting the necessary technical and operational criteria.
Providing an update on the project’s overall advancement, Lee said that as of April 30, 2026, Phase 1 of the KUTS project has achieved a physical progress of approximately 38.2%, against a scheduled target of 44.8%.
Lee attributed this slight delay to several overlapping challenges, including contractor performance issues, complex underground utility relocation works, and strategic refinements made to certain project alignments.
Among these refinements is a major structural update to the project’s Red Line. Following a comprehensive technical and budgetary review, the alignment along Jalan Tun Razak to Pending has been redesigned to be fully elevated, a move aimed at bolstering long-term network reliability and operational efficiency.
Additionally, Lee said the Green Line’s scope has been optimized.
“The dedicated ART lane will now span the stretch between Pending and Yayasan Sarawak, while a Hydrogen Feeder Bus service will extend from Yayasan Sarawak to Damai Central to support the wider KUTS network,” he said.
Lee added that tender documents for the Green Line package are currently being finalized for advertisement in the second quarter of 2026. Construction for this section is targeted to commence in the final quarter of this year, with the entire KUTS project slated for full completion by the third quarter of 2030.
He said that the Majlis Meysuarat Kerajaan Negeri (MMKN) approved the integration of the Rembus Hydrogen Production Plant into the KUTS project scope in October last year. Under this new structural arrangement, Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd will manage the in-house production of the hydrogen supply required to power the KUTS fleet.
