MELAKA, Oct 7 – Melaka is introducing a new medium of public transport, the water taxi service, which will ply across Sungai Melaka, by next year, said Melaka River and Coastal Development Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Murad Husin.
He said operation of the water taxi service, to cover the route from Melaka Sentral to the Sungai Melaka estuary covering a distance of about 9.6 kilometres, would however depend on the status of the Phase Two Sungai Melaka Development Project, which is under the jurisdiction of the Drainage and Irrigation Department.
“Now we are looking at solving the problems so that we can go ahead with the implementation of the activities that have been planned, including the water taxi service,” he told reporters after the launch of the ‘October 2020 Frontliners and Your Families Are Appreciated’ promotion on board the vessel Kapal Mendam Berahi here last night.
Among the issues to be solved, he said, was on the depth of the river and improvement of the banks of Sungai Melaka.
He said a water taxi could accommodate 12 passengers at a time and several pick up and drop off stations would be built along Sungai Melaka for the purpose.
Meanwhile, Murad said several new tourism products would also be developed to attract more tourists to the state, such ‘island hopping’ and ‘night cruise’.
“We are also considering moving the operations of the Melaka River Cruise from Taman Rempah to a more comfortable area, especially under the Second Phase of the Sungai Melaka Development Project so that we can use newer and more comfortable facilities,” he added.
— Bernama
