Construction of the Second Link In July 1989,
United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM) submitted a proposal to the government of Malaysia to privatize the construction of a second link to
Singapore. The acceptance of the proposal brought about the signing of a concession agreement in July 1993, giving exclusive rights and authority to UEM to design, construct, manage, operate and maintain the
bridge and
expressways for a period of 30 years commencing 27 July 1993. Following this, a novation agreement was executed in May 1994, whereby UEM assigned all its rights, liabilities and obligations in respect of the concession agreement to Linkedua (Malaysia) Berhad, a wholly owned subsidiary of UEM. The major components of the project are the
Second Crossing bridge, 44 kilometers of expressways, The
Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex, three
toll plazas, two rest and service areas and other ancillary facilities. The bridge was designed to accommodate up to 200,000 vehicles a day.
Opening ceremony The Second Link was opened to traffic on 2 January 1998. It was officially opened on 18 April the same year by the Prime Ministers of both countries, namely
Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia and
Goh Chok Tong of Singapore. The
Malaysia–Singapore Second Crossing heralded a new era in bilateral relations, and brought with it the promise of improved economic and social ties. In 2007,
PLUS Expressway Berhad had entered into conditional agreements with the
UEM Group to acquire the entire interests in Expressway Lingkaran Tengah Sdn Bhd (Elite) and Linkedua (Malaysia) Bhd for RM866mil. Since then, both ELITE and LINKEDUA became wholly owned subsidiaries of PLUS Expressways Berhad.
Pontian Link A new link heading towards Pontian (Pontian Link) through the Pulai Interchange Exit 307A at km 15.3 on the Second Link Expressway was opened to traffic starting from 1:00 pm, 10 November 2007 on Saturday. The Pontian Link provides easy access for highway users, connecting the Second Link Expressway (from Pulai Interchange) to Ulu Choh-Gelang Patah Interchange (KM5). Construction of the 2.7 km link started on 17 April 2006 and was fully completed on 16 October 2007. == Features ==