KUCHING: The first Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) that will arrive in Sarawak will undergo a year-long proof of concept (POC) testing.
Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr Abdul Aziz Husain said the hydrogen-powered ART will undergo the POC testing at Kota Samarahan Expressway here.
“We have one ART that has been completed in China and will be brought to Sarawak in the middle of this year to be tested for more than a year.
“The testing will be at Kota Samarahan expressway,” he said when met by reporters after attending the handover ceremony of three units of Toyota Mirai to Deputy Premiers Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hiang at Wisma Bapa Malaysia lobby here today.
He also said that more units of ART will be coming next year and SEDC is committed to bringing them in.
“Next year, we may bring in three or four ART units to Sarawak. This will allow Sarawak to have commercial operations at the end of 2025,” he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the other public transportation in Sarawak that will use hydrogen power, Aziz said that SEDC also plans to add more vehicles that would make full use of hydrogen power.
“We will have buses besides the ART that will use hydrogen which will benefit the public later,” he added.
For the record, the route that will be used by ART in Kota Samarahan, at Rembus Depot, which is an ART depot.
The prototype ART measures 30.2m long, 2.65m wide and 3.7m high and can reach speeds of up to 70 km per hour with a capacity to accommodate 241 passengers.
