Infrastructure Weekly | 2 – 8 June 2025
Penang’s long-awaited LRT pushes toward ground-breaking, while water, airport and highway works pick up speed—and New Zealand unveils an expressway blueprint Malaysia’s corridor planners will want to
The first week of June delivered a wave of northern-region milestones. Penang confirmed start-dates for its flagship Mutiara Line LRT and the companion Juru–Sungai Dua Elevated Highway, Langat 2 set national engineering records in Selangor, and Penang International Airport’s expansion hit the one-third mark. In East Malaysia, Sabah’s Pan Borneo Highway planners opened a public debate on how Phase 3 can serve people and wildlife. On the policy front, Putrajaya’s new National Slope Master Plan sets a five-year clock on fixing the country’s most dangerous slopes, echoing landslide lessons from recent years. Overseas, New Zealand mapped out the Northland Expressway—an all-weather, four-lane corridor whose resilience-first approach offers timely cues for Malaysian expressway designs.
Feature Story – Penang LRT clears the runway
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow confirmed on 4 June that construction of the 29.5 km Mutiara Line Light Rail Transit will start in Q3 2025, with 21 stations linking Tanjung Bungah to the island’s Silicon Island depot and over to the mainland. The state has enlisted traffic-management specialists to keep all existing lanes open during works and limit daytime closures on key arterials. Completion is targeted in six to seven years. The same briefing revealed that the elevated Juru–Sungai Dua Highway—crucial for diverting trucks off the congested NSE stretch—will break ground before year-end, turning Penang into one of Malaysia’s busiest construction zones through 2030.
On the Ground – Project Snapshots
Langat 2 Water Plant smashes records – On 27 May the RM8 b Langat 2 facility earned three Malaysia Book of Records titles for its 1.92 km pipe-conveyor waste system, 46 m shaftless screw conveyor and status as the nation’s first conveyor-type sludge line. The innovations remove 35 000 annual lorry trips and lift treated-water output to 1 130 MLD.
Penang Airport expansion passes 38 % – Phase 1 works on the apron, new ATC tower and ancillary buildings have topped the one-third mark; Work Package 2 (RM254 m) began last month, and the main terminal tender goes out in June. A new terminal is slated to open in 2027, full completion by 2028.
Pan Borneo Highway Phase 3 enters design crunch – Sabah officials used a 8 June briefing to flag that the still-unfinalised Phase 3 alignment must “co-exist with wildlife” and critical forest reserves; conservationists are urging eco-ducts before plans are frozen later this year.
Policy Watch – National Slope Master Plan rolls out
The Works Ministry formally launched the National Slope Master Plan (PICN) 2025-2030 at the National Slope Symposium. Twenty very-high-risk slopes—most along the East-West Highway—will be stabilised first at an estimated RM36 m. The PICN embeds mandatory risk registers, annual audits and shared-data portals, aiming to cut landslide losses and align with the National Disaster Risk-Reduction Policy 2030. Designers should expect tighter geotechnical documentation requirements in upcoming highway and rail bids.
International Perspective – New Zealand’s Northland Expressway
On 8 June, Wellington unveiled the preferred 100 km Northland Expressway corridor, a four-lane, climate-resilient highway linking Auckland’s outskirts to Whangārei. By tunnelling under weak geology and bypassing slip-prone hills, the project sets a benchmark for integrating weather-resilience and regional-growth goals into one business case. Malaysian planners eyeing coastal expressways or the next phase of Pan Borneo can mine the Kiwi playbook for robust corridor-evaluation and community-benefit metrics.