Singapore and Malaysia finalising details for land VTL

[SINGAPORE] Singapore and Malaysia have been working to finalise details of the reopening of the land borders, with a trial run conducted at the Johor-Singapore Causeway on Tuesday morning (Nov 23) to test out new protocols.

When open, the land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) will allow workers from both countries to reunite with their families, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening.

The trial will allow the authorities to refine its processes before the VTL is launched.

MTI said: "This is an ongoing multi-agency effort together with our Malaysian counterparts, and we are excited to see our land borders reopen." Welcoming the move on Tuesday morning, Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Twitter in Malay: "Officials from both Malaysia and Singapore are implementing a 'dry run' for the proposed opening of the VTL through the Johor Causeway."The opening of the border is much anticipated by the people of both countries. Hope it goes well." Some 1,440 people are expected to be able to travel between Johor and Singapore in the first week of the implementation of the land VTL.

There is a daily quota of 10,000 arrivals for those entering Singapore under the VTL programme.

Under Singapore's VTL protocols, people who are fully vaccinated are able to travel into Singapore on designated flights, and take Covid-19 tests in lieu of serving quarantine or stay-home notice.

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The air VTL between Singapore and Malaysia will launch next Monday.

Before the pandemic, the Woodlands Causeway and Tuas Second Link together saw about 415,000 travellers daily.

More than 100,000 Malaysians continue to live and work here despite the travel restrictions.

During a multi-ministry task force press conference on Sunday, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said: "I am optimistic that we will be able to launch this VTL for land around the end of this month, close to the launch of the VTL for air. And it is also possible that we would be able to do so on the same day."

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