The Malacca state government will take into account strategic location, transportation network and capability to expand development when picking the site for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) terminal in Malacca.

State Transportation and Project Rehabilitation Committee chairperson Lim Ban Hong said the terminal which would be the major entry points to Malacca must project the image of the historical state.

“The terminal for the high speed train must be suitable and accentuate a good image of Malacca which has a developed status,” he said when answering to a supplementary question from Khoo Poay Tiong (DAP-Air Keroh) on the location which would be identified for the HSR terminal at the state assembly in Malacca.

He said the state government also viewed seriously the public transportation networks such as bus, taxi, trams and monorail to ferry HSR passengers to the city of Malacca which is a heritage site for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

In addition, he said the state government needed an area which could accommodate future developments to facilitate consumers and boost the economy of the state and the people, for the terminal.

“Based on the statistics of the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad), an estimated 17.9 million consumers will use the high speed train a year or an average of 49,000 people a day,” he said.

Lim, however, did not reveal the location, saying it was in the interest of the public.

Earlier, when replying to an oral question from Lai Keun Ban (DAP-Kota Laksamana) on why Melaka was not planned as one of the main stops of the HSR project, Lim said the question did not arise as Spad had identified seven locations in Malaysia, namely, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Batu Pahat, Muar and Nusajaya as HSR hubs.

In fact, he said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also announced the matter at the National Deepavali Open House in Malacca on Nov 1.

- Bernama