ICA refutes M'sia news report about jam caused by 'power outage' at Woodlands Checkpoint
Jam.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has refuted a Malaysian media report that blamed a power outage at the Woodlands Checkpoint for heavy traffic on Nov. 4. The Star newspaper claimed the congestion began around noon and was caused by a significant power failure at the checkpoint. However, the ICA clarified to Mothership that no power outage occurred at Woodlands Checkpoint on that date.
Instead, the authority conducted planned electrical maintenance works from 10am to 2pm at the Old Woodlands Checkpoint. Despite the checkpoint being temporarily unavailable for clearing arriving lorries, lorry clearance continued. Some Singapore-bound cargo traffic built up on the Causeway during this period, leading to a lorry breakdown on the Malaysia side around 4:30pm and another at 6:30pm, which disrupted traffic.
The congestion was worsened by the higher evening traffic volume. ICA informed travelers via Facebook advisories about the vehicle breakdowns and delays. All counters at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) customs, immigration, and quarantine complex on the Malaysia side were operational. Malaysian authorities also opened extra lanes and deployed additional police personnel around the BSI and surrounding roads to manage the peak-hour rush of workers leaving Singapore.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.