Wednesday, 30 August 2006
The Star

MORE LOCAL CONTENT IN LRT LINE EXPANSION

PETALING JAYA: More local contractors are expected to be involved in the construction of the 50km light rail transit (LRT) line expansion in the Klang Valley compared with a decade ago when the LRT made its debut in Malaysia, said Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) chief executive officer Shaipudin Shah Harun.

Malaysia had then relied heavily on foreign expertise for the construction of the LRT network that currently spans 50km, but "the scenario has since changed," said Shaipudin.

"There is ample local expertise and we expect local content to increase significantly," he told StarBiz yesterday.

He said the percentage of local content would be more evident when SPNB completed its feasibility study.

He expected the study to be completed by the third or fourth quarter, following which the tender bid for the three stretches of rail line would begin. Work on the new 50km rail line will commence next year.

"We expect the tender process to begin early next year," Shaipudin added.

Construction companies such as UEM Builders Bhd, UM Corp Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, MTD Capital Bhd, WCT Engineering Bhd, Road Builder (M) Holdings Bhd, Ranhill Bhd, Nairn Cendera Holdings Bhd, and even Tronoh Consolidated Bhd will be vying for a slice of the construction works cake.

The first stretch of the new line involves a 10km extension of the Putra LRT line from Kelana Jaya to USJ in Subang Jaya. The second is a 10km Star LRT line extension from Seri Petaling to Puchong, while the third stretch involves a 30km line to link Kota Damansara to Cheras via Kuala Lumpur.

"These stretches will he completed in four years, and by then, the LRT network coverage in the Klang Valley will expand to 100km," Shaipudin said.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the government would spend RM10bil for an efficient and cost effective public transportation system in the Klang Valley to encourage more people to use the public transportation system.

Shaipudin said of the RM10bil investment, about RM7bil would be for the construction of the new 50km rail line network, including supporting infrastructure. About RM2bil would be set aside for fleet expansion for Putra LRT and the remaining RM1bil for bus fleet expansion and other supporting projects.

He said financing would be a mix of equity from shareholders and issuance of debt papers. He would not disclose the percentage mix but it is believed that a large chunk would be via selling debt papers.

Putra LRT currently has 70 carriages and its fleet will be expanded to over 200 over a three-year period. Tenders for the fleet expansion closed in May and three foreign bidders have been short-listed. Shaipudin declined to name the bidders but said the award would be announced soon after the evaluation process was completed.

We are trying to get the best possible deal and the first delivery of the carriages will be two years from the order date," he said

As for the bus network, 1,130 new buses would he added to the existing fleet.

SPNB, which is the owner of the rail and bus assets, is wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance Inc (MOF Inc). Its sister company, RapidKL also owned by MOF Inc, operates the bus and rail services.