KLANG — The government is planning to redevelop large park-and-ride sites along the newly launched LRT3 Shah Alam Line into affordable housing and commercial projects, in a move aimed at making better use of public land while encouraging greater use of public transport.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the proposal would focus on selected stations with sizable parking facilities, rather than every station along the line, with Sri Andalas station serving as the initial example.

He said Prasarana had identified large parcels of land around some stations that are currently used solely as surface car parks, despite their development potential.

“For example, the Prime Minister boarded the train today from Sri Andalas station. We have a parking facility there that accommodates 500 vehicles. It is a large piece of land.

“If we simply leave it as a car park, it would be an inefficient use of the land. The land has value and can be developed. This is not only to generate returns for Prasarana, but more importantly to stimulate development in the surrounding area,” he said in his speech during the launch of the LRT3 Shah Alam Line today.

Loke said he had sought Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s mandate to allow Prasarana to speed up such developments, particularly for affordable housing near rail stations.

He said the projects would be undertaken with private developers on government-owned land belonging to Prasarana, while ensuring the homes remain affordable.