ICA refutes Malaysian media report of power outage at Woodlands Checkpoint

here was no power outage at the Woodlands Checkpoint on Nov 4

, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said, refuting a

Malaysian

media report of a disruption at the key border crossing.

On Nov 4, Malaysian daily The Star reported that a “massive power outage at the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore” led to a heavy traffic jam leading to the Malaysian checkpoint. It said that the issue started at about noon.

In response to queries from The Straits Times on Nov 5, ICA said that p

lanned electrical maintenance works were conducted at the Old Woodlands Checkpoint on Nov 4, from 10am to 2pm.

While the Old Woodlands Checkpoint was temporarily unavailable for the clearance of arriving lorries during the works, lorry clearance continued at Woodlands Checkpoint, ICA said.

During this period, some Singapore-bound cargo traffic built up on the Causeway, ICA said, adding that operations at the Old Woodlands Checkpoint resumed at around 4pm that day.

ICA said that later in the day, it observed that two lorries broke down on the Malaysian side of the Causeway towards Singapore at about 4.30pm and 6.30pm respectively.

The breakdowns blocked one of the three arrival lanes, contributing to traffic queues extending from the lorry breakdown sites into Malaysia, the authority added.

The congestion was exacerbated by the higher volume of vehicles during the evening peak period, ICA said.

The first lorry was removed only at 9.50pm that evening, ICA said, adding that the second was removed at about 12.20am on Nov 5.

ICA said: “During this period, traffic towards Woodlands Checkpoint was disrupted.

“ICA posted advisories on its Facebook page to alert travellers to the vehicle breakdowns and expected delays, and notify them when the affected lane reopened.”

The authority’s response comes after Malaysian news outlet The Star reported at 9.15pm on Nov 4 that a “massive” power outage at the checkpoint caused a heavy traffic jam on most major roads leading to the checkpoint on the Malaysian side.

The report said: “Although all counters were operating at optimum level at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex (BSI) here, the jam lasted for many hours due to a build-up of vehicles from the Singapore side.”

The Star said it learnt that the issue started at about noon on the Singapore side.

It also reported that at press time, “it remains unclear what caused the power outage in Singapore”.

• Additional reporting by Ariel Quek

Daniel Lai is a journalist at the ST Now team, covering breaking news and international affairs.