New Straits Times - Bank Pembangunan in consortium to fund South East Asia's first hydrogen-powered, autonomous rapid transitTransit

Kuala Lumpur, 20 July 2023

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB), UOB Malaysia, and China Construction Bank (Malaysia) Bhd will work together to provide financing of RM264.5 million to develop South East Asia's first hydrogen-powered, autonomous rapid transit (ART) in Kuching, Sarawak.

In a joint statement, the three banks said that it will provide the funding to EPR Mobilus GR JV Sdn Bhd (EMGJV) , the contractor appointed by Sarawak Metro Sdn. Bhd. to develop the ART in Kuching, Sarawak.

Sarawak Metro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), was entrusted by the state government to implement the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project.2

The completion of the project will see the roll out of the Blue Line (from Rembus in Kota Samarahan to Hikmah Exchange in Kuching city centre), Red Line (from Kuching Sentral to Pending) and Green Line (from Pending to Damai Central). BPMB group chief executive officer Roni Abdulwahab said this project aligns with its purpose to deliver impact capital for national development and the bank has supported strategic national infrastructure projects over the last 50 years.

"Today, we evaluate all our activities using our assessment framework called Measuring Impact on National Development (MIND), to make sure all of our projects deliver socioeconomic and environmental impact.

"KUTS particularly scores high in our MIND evaluation. Bank Pembangunan salutes the Sarawak government and its vision, and aspires to be a part of its sustainable journey," he said in a statement today. BPMB, UOB Malaysia and CCB Malaysia are the mandated lead arrangers of the syndication programme.

The project is scheduled for pilot testing by the third quarter of 2023, and planned to begin full operations in stages by the fourth quarter of 2025 (4Q25).

Once operational, each ART train can carry up to 300 passengers across the 69.9km Phase 1 alignment of KUTS covering the Kuching metropolitan and Greater Kuching areas.