THE Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) Environmental Management Conference 2018, was held at the KVMRT Training Centre, Sungai Buloh on 22 November 2018. This conference is the third of its kind after the inaugural edition in 2016.

With the theme ‘Good Air Quality With MRT’, the aim of the conference was to create awareness and understanding on air quality management at MRT Project sites. MRT Corp, MMC Gamuda KVMRT (PDP) SSP Sdn Bhd, as the Project Delivery Partner for the project and Work Package Contractors for the project were invited for this conference.

Department of Environment (DOE), Deputy Director General Puan Norlin Jaafar officiated the day’s proceedings. In her opening speech, she commended MRT Corp for its various initiatives in raising awareness about preserving the environment especially with the reduction of plastic waste usage.

MRT Corp Standard and Compliance Director Encik Mohd Yusof Kasiron also took to the floor and he extended his high gratitude for the continuous support by various government organisations in making MRT Corp’s Environmental Conference a success.

Mr Tan Poh Aun, a consultant from SOx NOx Asia Sdn Bhd started the conference by giving a talk about Air Pollution Control and the best management practices. The general public has negative perceptions about construction sites, especially with dust issues, hence he highlighted about the various ways in which construction workers should take in maintaining good quality of air. Tan also went through the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Standard 2013. This document underlines the actions that are to be taken to avoid creating unnecessary dust through proper project planning.

Next, Puan Farah Diyana Rusli, from DOE Putrajaya, gave an overview of the Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulation 2014. She spoke about the various requirements of the regulation and the improvements of the act since its previous version. Farah also highlighted the importance of declaration of works especially when fuel and fire burning equipments are involved. These works need to be declared to DOE prior to beginning of works so that the authorities are able to ensure that all processes will be run smoothly.

A research paper entitled ‘Climate Change Mitigation and Co-Benefits of Mass Rapid Transportation’ was also presented. Professor Dr Jamal Hisham Hashim, Visiting Professor of Environmental Health at United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health, discussed the statistics on how MRT trains helped reduce carbon emission. Amongst the notable topics that caught the attention of the audience was that based on research, MRT service could help avoid 5 deaths per year caused by air combustion. This is because the MRT service will reduce the number of vehicles on the road. In addition, it will also enable to limit the amount of stress and burden faced by an individual, thus reducing illnesses.

An audit report performance about the MRT Project was then shared by Europasia Engineering Services Sdn Bhd Lead Consultant Ms Geetha Kumaran. She provided statistics on previous audit reports at MRT Project sites and highlighted items that were needed to be improved in the future. These audits are conducted once in 4 months.

The final speaker for the day was Encik Nasrum Zubir from DOE, Kuala Lumpur. He spoke about the Environmental Quality Act, 1974. One of the aspects that he highlighted was on the requirement of Environment Impact Assessment which is to be abided by project owners at work sites. Examples of MRT Project sites were also shown to the audience and improvements and suggestions were given upon this.

This conference was seen as a success as all attendees managed to garner new knowledge on the steps that are needed to be taken to maintain a sustainable environment.