Moving Southeast Asia's Cities Forward
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THE FUTURE OF INFRASTRUCTURE CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE GOING THE EXTRA KILOMETRE MOVING SOUTHEAST ASIA'S CITIES FORWARD Air pollution was greatly reduced Traffic congestion is a major pain point for Southeast as stay at home measures were Asia’s growing economies, affecting economic gain implemented across the region due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, and the environment, as well as quality of life. With only a major shift towards remote working would help ease congestion more people moving into urban areas, the need to given that the major regional cities are improve public transportation infrastructure is critical, densely populated, have limited road right of way and are underserved by particularly the problematic ‘last kilometre’, says public transport systems. As workers return, roadway traffic volumes have AECOM’s Scott Dunn. started to return to pre-pandemic levels and in some cases use of low ollowing the release of our only going to get worse in the face occupancy private vehicles may 2019 Future of Infrastructure of continuing rapid urbanisation. even increase due to the demands of report, we held a series of So, what role can infrastructure play social distancing. conversations in Jakarta, in helping to make cities in Southeast The economic cost of congestion Kuala Lumpur and Singapore Asia more liveable before it’s too late? is significant. Studies estimate that with clients, planners and the region loses approximately two stakeholders to better understand what to five per cent of gross domestic F The cost of congestion people really want and expect from the Most major cities in the region with product (GDP) due to heavy traffic. infrastructure in their cities. the exception of Singapore have not Metro Manila is considered to have During each forum a survey was prioritised the development of a the worst traffic, which is equivalent conducted and while the findings well-connected public transportation to an estimated daily economic loss represent a small sample, the primary network. As a result, heavy traffic leaves of 3.5 billion (US$67 million). With grievance among them was unanimous: citizens facing extremely long commutes the rising number of vehicles in the congestion and traffic are putting leading to a massive amount of economic region, the situation could worsen a major strain on their cities. And productivity loss and some of the worst to 5.4 billion a day by 2035 if no if we don’t act now, that strain is air pollution levels in the world. 1 intervening steps are taken. THE FUTURE OF INFRASTRUCTURE CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE Meanwhile, it is estimated that congestion in Greater Jakarta is costing THE COST OF the country 65 trillion rupiah (US$4.6 CONGESTION billion) annually 2 — but the true impact could be higher. ASIA-PACIFIC REGION GREATER JAKARTA MANILA METRO AREA The costs of environmental deterioration, cancelled transactions, REDUCTION IN GDP ANNUAL COST DAILY ECONOMIC LOSS lower productivity and competitive advantage relative to other major big 2–5% $4.6BN $67M $106M cities are not accounted for in that figure. NOW 2035 PREDICTED Beyond the economic cost is the toll that being stuck in traffic takes on the average commuter. In Manila, it’s not uncommon for a 30-kilometre commute to take two hours on a good day and THE BENEFITS OF three hours on a particularly bad day, INFRASTRUCTURE taking away time — one of our most precious resources — from a host of INVESTMENT other activities. The last 'kilometre' problem The journey from metro station to SINGAPORE KUALA LUMPUR final destination — the so-called ‘last INVESTMENT IN SUNGAI BULOH-KAJANG MASS kilometre’ — is one of the key reasons INFRASTRUCTURE RAPID TRANSIT (SBK MRT) LINE commuters are not satisfied with their public transportation, according to our survey results. Respondents said that essential integration between rail INCREASED USAGE INCREASED systems and other modes of transport DECREASE IN PUBLIC GROSS NATIONAL was underdeveloped. TRAFFIC TRANSPORT INCOME Public rail systems have historically developed from inter-urban networks. While Tokyo and Shanghai have highly -40% +20% MYR3-4BN interconnected networks (700 km and 590 km respectively), Jakarta and Manila’s combined urban rail network amounts to just 100 kilometres. Recent INCREASE IN SIGNIFICANT GENERATION OF moves to close this gap are starting to TRAFFIC SPEED REDUCTION NEW JOBS provide options for daily commuters — KVMRT Line 1 in Malaysia and PT Phase 1 in Jakarta are good examples of Mass +16KPH CO2 +130K Rapid Transport networks — but the region is undersupplied. Across tropical Southeast Asia, long distances between transport hubs can be a challenge as commuters are exposed to heat, humidity, rain, flooding and other elements. One respondent shared how her father often has to walk through serious rain and flooding along an unpaved road to get from the train station to his home. Figure 1: Diagram showing transit infrastructure disparity between major cities in the Asia Pacific region. The red lines show the transit networks in each city. Maps are not to scale. TOKYO JAKARTA SEOUL SHANGHAI MANILA THE FUTURE OF INFRASTRUCTURE CREATING OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE SPOTLIGHT ON SINGAPORE Singapore is leading the way also relieve crowding on the East- when it comes to advanced West and North-South Lines and public transport infrastructure is expected to benefit one million and policy planning within the commuters daily. region and much of the world. Transport policies 3 support To date, Singapore’s policy has national economic development resulted in a 40 per cent decrease and a high quality of life for its in traffic, a 20 per cent increase in residents, giving them mobility public transport usage, an average and efficiency at affordable 16 km per hour traffic speed In Indonesia, an overwhelming prices. The country’s strategy improvement, and a significant 90 per cent of survey respondents 6 is based on limiting private car reduction in CO2 emissions. showed dissatisfaction with their 4 ridership while providing public current transit system. They noted transit to meet the needs of most In addition to such large-scale that while the capital’s new MRT has of its population. investment in network expansion, encouraged more people to take mass 90% Singapore continues to focus transportation, commuters still find it In Indonesia, 90 Today, the island nation has more on improving ‘last kilometre’ difficult to bridge the MRT with their per cent of survey 5 than 130 stations across five connectivity. Its goal is to ensure ‘last kilometre’ destinations. such as respondents showed dissatisfaction MRT lines that span the city- that the rush-hour commute parking spaces near stations, which with their current state, serving over three million shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes could help further reduce the number transit system. passengers daily across 200 for any citizen, and for roughly 80 of vehicles on the road. kilometres of track. In addition, percent of all households to live In Kuala Lumpur, many residents there are light rail lines that connect within a 10-minute walk of an MRT still prefer to use cars out of habit 7 commuters to their homes and station. To make ‘last kilometre’ and for efficiency’s sake. 60 per cent workplaces and more networks connections safer, more inclusive of respondents said they use public are being built to further expand and easier to use, measures such as transportation, but maintain concerns rail coverage. For example, we barrier-free access to stations and about safety, especially for women, are working with the Singaporean interchanges, more pedestrian and along walking routes to the stations government to provide detailed cycle-friendly sidewalks and well-lit that can be difficult to navigate. 60% design and engineering consultancy covered walkways are planned. In In Kuala Lumpur, services for several MRT lines, addition, the city intends to harness 60 per cent of Public policy partnership including the Thomson-East Coast technology, ride-sharing and multi- Investing in an efficient transportation respondents said they use public Line (TEL). Once completed, the modal transportation services to system is proven to lift the transportation. TEL will shorten the journey from realise this ambitious goal, as well economic potential of cities and Woodlands South to Orchard/city as improvements to the physical regions. By connecting people with from 50 minutes to 35 minutes. It will connection to rail stations. more job opportunities, a reliable, comprehensive public transport system promotes greater productivity. of between RM3 billion and RM4 commute: it’s also about having more It can also serve as a draw for talent, billion per annum. The new line has time to do the things we love with private investment and businesses, spurred growth in new areas such as those we value most — something as well as providing employment the Forest Research Institute Malaysia most people would sign up for. Given opportunities in building and (FRIM) in Sungai Buloh and the Tun the varying levels of maturity in public maintaining the network. 130K Razak Exchange, as well as generating transportation infrastructure across Kuala Lumpur’s Sungai Buloh- around 130,000 new jobs. 8 Southeast Asia, there isn’t a one-size- Kuala Lumpur’s Kajang Mass Rapid Transit (SBK Sungai Buloh-Kajang fits-all solution. But as more people go MRT) line, which was completed in Mass Rapid Transit to live and work in cities, the already The value of good connectivity 2017, is estimated to have contributed (SBK MRT) line has Of course, good connectivity is not chronic congestion is only likely to generated around to the rise in gross national income 130,000 new jobs. just about economics or having a faster worsen unless action is taken. Investment in infrastructure has the power to alleviate today’s economic distress and create opportunities for tomorrow.