THE SARAWAK DAP assemblyman for Pending, Violet Yong, has claimed that the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) hydrogen tram project in Kuching will cost up to a shocking RM6 billion.

She wants to know why Sarawak government leaders are paying a mind-boggling sum to a China manufacturer for the vehicles.

She claimed that the China manufacturer had stopped producing such hydrogen trams in that country due to the exorbitant costs of producing hydrogen fuel but Sarawak had insisted it wanted the project.

“Sarawak is spending taxpayers’ money to carry out the ART project to a tune of RM6 billion.

“The state is paying a China firm to manufacture the vehicles for Sarawak, but that firm had stopped production for their China market due to cost factors as hydrogen fuel is extremely expensive to produce, as is the case all over the world.

“Why is the Sarawak government insisting on going on with this project when so much money is to be used?

“The huge amount of money should be used to repair our roads, bridges, schools and clinics that are in bad shape in rural districts,” she said in a press statement.

Yong, on November 28 last year, during the state assembly sitting, provided data that nearly RM2.5 billion has been spent already just to prepare the groundworks for the hydrogen tram route in Kuching.

The outspoken lawmaker wants the state government to give a detailed breakdown of the costs of this ART project.

She said the rakyat wants to know the justification for spending such a huge sum of money.

“A sum of RM1.873 billion is being spent on the groundworks for the Kuching Urban Transportation System that will accommodate the ART vehicle.

“Another RM 568.61 million contract has been awarded for the construction of the ART Blue Line route.

“The state government must provide a detailed breakdown of these huge sums of money being spent,” she said.

The ART tram is now undergoing test runs in Kuching.

The ART project is the first such public transport project in Sarawak where hydrogen is used to power the bus, instead of fossil fuel. – September 11, 2024