Construction of the Bukit Chagar Integrated Mixed-Use Development has begun with the first phase of the multi-storey park & ride facility, with an estimated 850 car park bays and 1,015 motorcycle parking spaces, targeted for public opening by Nov 30, 2026.
The Bukit Chagar Mixed-Use Development will also have a retail mall and educational institutions, a health and wellness hub, a hospitality component, and residential units.
“The mall is about 400,000 sq ft. There will be a supermarket, of course, for Singaporeans to conveniently shop at, with no traffic concerns. We want to put in a health-related facility as well. I think it will be able to cater for the population in and around Woodlands,” says Gerard Soosay, CEO of SCIP.
The car park at Sunway’s new development may solve the problem for those who park-and-ride into Singapore. What about Singaporeans heading to Johor?
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“The extent of the RTS impact will hinge on the smoothness of cross-border travel, especially during peak periods, between Singapore and Johor,” says Wong Xian Yang, head of Research, Singapore and Southeast Asia, at Cushman &Wakefield.
At peak travel times, the RTS trains will be letting out 10,000 people an hour into Bukit Chagar where transport infrastructure isn’t in place. Initially, Singaporeans can be disbursed into Sunway’s car park where the park-and-ride travellers have parked their cars. By 2027, some travellers can be steered into Sunway’s 400,000 sq ft mall.
Travellers into Johor by the RTS may prefer to wait it out till the JS-SEZ’s transport infrastructure plans are underway. Soosay points out that an elevated autonomous rapid transit (E-ART) system is being tendered out currently. “It’s not an MRT or LRT. It’s a combination of certain areas with an LRT and there are certain areas where it’s going to be on the road,” he says.
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Malaysia’s Minister of Transport Anthony Loke said the Johor state government favours E-ART over an LRT due to its lower cost and faster implementation.
Unlike the LRT, E-ART operates on non-dedicated tracks, allowing buses to share lanes, making it a flexible and cost-effective solution. The Public-Private Partnership Unit (Ukas) has invited companies to submit proposals. A special committee — comprising representatives from the economy, finance, and transport ministries; the prime minister’s department; and the Johor Economic Planning Division — is expected to finalise the chosen system.
E-ART is envisaged to be a trackless, rubber-wheeled transit system, operating autonomously on dedicated or guided pathways with driverless tram-like coaches.
“The plan is to disperse the traffic from Bukit Chagar,” Soosay says.
