Puduraya Opening Delayed
Published: 02/19/2011 by Bavani M
The opening of the Puduraya bus station has been postponed yet again. The new date set for the opening of the RM52mil terminal is April 16.
Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin made the decision to postpone the opening after visiting Puduraya yesterday to check on the progress of the renovation and upgrading works.
Nong Chik spent almost an hour touring the complex with KL mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad Ismail, Land Public Transport Commissions (SPAD) head of state operations and terminal licensing Mohd Fuad Ahmad, UDA Holdings Berhad managing director Datuk Jaafar Abu Hassan and senior officers from the FT Ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
“After the visit, I have to say I am not satisfied with the progress, and I don’t think they (UDA Holdings Berhad) will be able to complete the work by March 1 even though they have assured me that they can,’’ Nong Chik said.
“We need to put the people first and I think that Puduraya must be 100% ready for it to be safe and comfortable for the rakyat,’’ he said.
When asked if he made the decision based on what happened at the new Integrated Transport Terminal-Bandar Tasik Selatan (ITT-BTS) which suffered glitches when it opened on Jan 1, Nong Chik said: “That is my rationale, yes. Even though the Cabinet has directed that both ITT-BTS and Puduraya be fully operational on March 1, I do not want (UDA) to rush through like what happened at the Bandar Tasik Selatan Terminal. In the end the rakyat suffers.’’
Nong Chik added that UDA needed more time to complete the upgrading as the wiring and electricity supply have not been connected yet.
“They will not be able to test the electronic system without elctricity and even today there was no electricity, so how are they going to test if the system is working,” he said.
He also added that other factors like low ceilings and some basic facilities were still not in place.
The minister added that for the time being, the Bukit Jalil temporary terminal would continue to cater to the north-bound routes and intracity buses, while the express buses catering for the southbound routes would have to start operations at Bandar Tasik Selatan terminal on March 1.
The station was closed in April 2010 for upgrading works, but the works were delayed due to additional work on the base of the building.
The FT Ministry directed it to be opened in January this year but that too was delayed and the latest deadline given by the Cabinet was March 1.
The terminal is set to be relaunched with a host of facilities to improve the level of transportation services. There are two escalators heading to the basement where buses are parked and one travellator from a new main entrance to the ground floor.
Heat from the bus engines and smoke will no longer affect the passengers at the ground floor with the new air-conditioned waiting area.
Other new features include ticket counters on the first floor, a surau on the second floor and a food court on the fourth floor.
All the 198 previous tenants including bus operators, food outlets, retail outlets, convenience stores and baggage storage will return to Puduraya. There will be 51 ticket counters for 72 bus companies.
