Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 9, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will unveil the National Transport Policy (NTP), a blueprint for the transport sector covering 2019 to 2030, next Thursday.

The NTP’s vision is to develop a sustainable transport sector that accelerates economic growth and supports the well-being of the rakyat in line with an advanced nation status.

“The transport sector is the backbone of the country’s economic growth. Hence, an efficient and reliable transport sector is critical to support commercial activities and raise the people’s standard of living.

“As such, there is a need for a strategic and holistic document encompassing land, air and sea transportation, as emphasised by the National Transport Strategy 2015 report by the World Bank,” Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar told a media briefing on the NTP here yesterday.

The policy took into account the potential growth, future direction and challenges in the transport sector, such as the population’s mobility and daily movements of Malaysians that are expected to rise from 40 million in 2010 to 131 million in 2030.

It also considered the expected increase in the number of vehicles from 25 million in 2015 to 31 million in 2030, in the absence of public transportation system.

The policy also considered technology advancement and global competition in the transport sector.

“This is the first time we have one holistic and strategic policy plan for the development of the country’s transport sector. Previously, there were plans within the various agencies and ministries but not in the form of one holistic policy,” said Kamarudin.

It is worth noting that the policy was initiated by the previous government.

The NTP sets out a strategic development plan for the ministry of transport and its agencies, and streamlines the initiatives and programmes towards common objectives and goals while ensuring effective and efficient usage of resources.

It also ensures that the various agencies and transport segments’ plans complement each other.

The NTP, covering air, land and sea transport, will be driven by five policy thrusts and 23 strategies that will be implemented through 163 short-term initiatives involving 16 ministries.

The first policy's thrust aims to strengthen the governance to create a conducive environment for the transport sector.

Secondly, it aims to optimise, build and maintain transport infrastructure, services and networks to maximise efficiency.

Thirdly, it hopes to enhance safety, integration, connectivity and accessibility for seamless journeys.

Fourthly, it aims to advance towards a green transport ecosystem and fifthly, to expand the global footprint and promote the internationalisation of transport services.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will launch the NTP.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share