ID :
124051
Tue, 05/25/2010 - 10:51
Auther :

MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE TO REDUCE TOLL CHARGES FOR SECOND LINK


By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, May 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to reduce
the toll charges for the Second Link to increase the road connectivity between
the two countries.

This was announced by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singapore
counterpart Lee Hsien Loong after the leaders' retreat at the Shangri-La Hotel
here Monday..

The toll charges at both sides of the Second Link, connecting Tuas here and
Tanjung Kupang in the Malaysian state of Johor, would be reduced significantly,
both the leaders said at a joint press conference after the retreat.

The new toll charges will be announced within a month.

Najib said he and Lee agreed that for the two countries to further enhance
their bilateral ties, the road connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore
needed to be increased and smoothened.

Both leaders also announced that the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) on
Iskandar Malaysia, an economic zone in Johor, tasked to increase the
connectivity between the two countries, had agreed on several moves.

The cross-border scheduled bus services will be doubled with the
introduction of eight new additional routes, four from each side

Cross-border taxi services will also be liberalised, with taxies being
allowed to pick up and drop off passengers from any location on the domestic leg
of that journey, instead of only at the designated taxi terminals.

The JMC has also formed a Cross Border Land Checkpoint Committee to
facilitate cooperation on operational management and cross-border traffic.

On tourism, both countries are looking into the possibility of twinning an
eco-tourism product.

Malaysia and Singapore would also share experiences and jointly develop
plans for river cleaning in line with efforts being undertaken in Iskandar
Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA

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