The project will also involve the building of a 64ha mixed commercial development complex called Jesselton New City, to be located near the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) in Likas Bay here.
Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe addressed several concerns over the project and urged Sabah deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin, who is also state works minister, to disclose further details in the upcoming state assembly sitting.
“I would like to remind the government that if planning is not done properly, not only will the people in Kota Kinabalu not be able to afford a convenient mode of public transportation but the project could also end up becoming a white elephant.
“We would not like to see another project that would be a huge waste of public resources.
“I hope that it would be a modernised and reliable public transportation that will truly benefit the people,” he said in a statement today.
It was reported that the skytrain project would be carried out over two phases, with the first phase spanning a distance of 10.5km, from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) to the city centre and Jesselton New City.
This is expected to take three years to build at a cost of RM1 billion.
The second phase, which will cost RM1.4 billion and also take three years, will span another 15km, running from the Jesselton New City to government administrative buildings, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), as well as commercial and residential areas in Likas.
Bung witnessed the signing of a four-way partnership deal for the project involving Vizione Construction Sdn Bhd, Sycal Skycity Sdn Bhd, Guangcai China (M) Sdn Bhd and Warisan Harta Sdn Bhd, which is a subsidiary of the state’s investment arm, Qhazanah Sabah Bhd.
Phoong, who is also Sabah DAP secretary, said Bung must disclose the capability and background of these private companies that are interested in investing in the project.
“And, most importantly, do they have any experience in building rail systems? This is because the technology is not generally utilised globally.
“The skytrain rapid transit system is not a mainstream system applied globally.
“In Germany, it is named H-Bahn. It is better known as a mounted monorail train, which is much different from the light rail transit (LRT) that is well recognised,” he said.
According to Phoong, as of early 2021, many cities were conducting trial runs of the skytrain, including Wuhan and Beijing in China.
“In Japan and Germany, it is only operated in small cities or within university campuses. As such, there is still an insufficient number of successful cases to prove its functionality and efficiency,” he said.
He said Sabah’s proposed skytrain project would not benefit most people residing in other parts of the state capital, such as in Luyang, Inanam as well as Kota Kinabalu’s sister district Penampang.
He also questioned the overall cost of the project, especially as the skytrain was not in the same class as the LRT.
“The most important factor would be the cost of the project. The 10.5km distance between KKIA and Jesselton New City will cost nearly RM1 billion.
“That comes to RM100 million per km. According to reports, ‘mounted monorail trains’ are supposed to be cheaper compared to the LRT but the reported construction cost for the KK skytrain project is shockingly high.
“This might have a negative impact on Kota Kinabalu’s public transportation plan in the next few decades,” Phoong said.
He also wanted the Sabah government to explain what the government would be offering in exchange to these investors to complete the project.
He wanted to know details on what kind of land swaps or land conversions would be included in the deal.
“The areas around Kota Kinabalu are ‘prime land’, which is extremely valuable. As such, we expect the government to be accountable to the public,” he said.