KUCHING: The proposed rail link between Bintulu and Samalaju is needed to support the area’s emergence as Sarawak’s low-carbon industrial cluster, says Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said the route is important due to the heavy cargo movement between both areas, particularly involving Bintulu Port and Samalaju.
“Since Samalaju and Bintulu are a low-carbon industrial cluster, we feel it is timely to develop the railway.
“We already have substantial cargo movement between Bintulu Port and Samalaju through Kidurong,” he told reporters after officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Sarawak Scouts headquarters here today (May 30).
Abang Johari had recently mentioned the Trans-Borneo Railway project during the Sarawakku Sayang programme dinner with community leaders and heads of communities in Bintulu.
He said discussions are ongoing at the federal level on the broader railway network, including possible future connectivity with Kalimantan, Indonesia.
“The study forms part of the wider Trans-Borneo railway alignment involving Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia.
“For now, Malaysia is conducting the study within its own territory, covering Sarawak and Sabah first,” he said.
He added that the proposed development is currently being studied by the federal government through the Economic Planning Unit.
Once the alignment is identified, he said Sarawak would begin with the Bintulu-Samalaju stretch with support from both the state and federal governments.
“Initially, I wanted to propose the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system.
“But considering the landscape, and with the federal government also proposing a railway, it is better for us to go with that.
“For the Bintulu-Kuching route, we need a national alignment. But it will have to be implemented in stages as the cost is quite high,” he added.
Asked whether a future railway system in Sarawak would use hydrogen-powered technology, Abang Johari said it was still too early to determine.
“Premature. Too early. Let us focus on Bintulu first,” he said.
