Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR) in Kuala Lumpur will be closed to all vehicles except for buses beginning March 15, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abd Samad said.

The closure of the one-kilometre stretch from Jalan Esfahan to Jalan Melayu is to allow the public, mainly shoppers, to carry out their business and other activities without having to deal with the constant traffic in the area, he said.

"Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) conducted an online survey on having the road closed and the majority of respondents agreed wih its proposal.

"We intend to make the area starting from Sogo (shopping complex) to Wisma Bandar to be free of vehicles,” he told a news conference after a luncheon talk in Putrajaya yesterday in conjunction with Federal Territory Day. Also present was Kuala Lumpur mayor Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan. 

He said that if the situation was good after the road closure, DBKL was ready to allow bazaar traders, who had applied for business licences, to operate in the area during the Ramadan period.

He added that the entire stretch could accommodate up to 200 lots, which could also be used for other festive periods.

Khalid said the move would also safeguard the interests of business owners whose shops at the old site of the Ramadan bazaar were adversely affected.

- Bernama