KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Prasarana Malaysia Bhd said today it will work with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and both its Project Delivery Partners (PDP) to reduce the total cost of the light rail transit line (LRT3) project.

In a statement today, the state-owned transportation company said it acknowledged Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s statement with regards to the increase in the total cost of the LRT3 project.

President and group chief executive officer of Prasarana, Masnizam Hisham, who was appointed in January this year to replace outgoing Datuk Seri Azmi Abdul Aziz, said the management had begun cost-cutting measures since February.

"We will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Finance and Project Delivery Partners Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) and George Kent (M) Bhd to identify additional areas that may help reduce said cost,” said Masnizam.

Prasarana’s statement today came after Lim’s call for a drastic cost reduction to make the project feasible and cost-effective, as the projected total cost of the light rail transit line 3 (LRT3) project has escalated to a whopping RM31.45 billion.

The latest cost estimate is significantly higher than the RM15 billion cited in recent news reports. The original estimate when the project was launched in 2015 was RM9 billion.

Lim blamed Prasarana’s poor management, adding that the ministry will not support any additional funding required for the project unless the cost is "significantly rationalised without compromising the rail network’s integrity as well as the safety and quality of service provided”.

The 37km LRT line from Bandar Utama to Klang through Shah Alam was expected to serve a two-million-strong population with the capacity to transport 36,700 passengers per hour each way.

The Star reported that the cost of the LRT3 project rose because Prasarana Malaysia ordered changes to the original design of the track, such as increasing the number of stations from 26 to 30, increasing the number of cars for each train from four to six, and cutting the project completion time from eight years to six.

In 2015, Prasarana appointed Malaysian Resources Corp Berhad and George Kent (M) Berhad as the project delivery partners (PDP) for the LRT3 project at an approved construction budget of RM9 billion.

When the LRT3 project was launched in 2015, it was projected to cost RM10 billion, including RM1 billion set aside for land acquisition.

The construction of the 51km Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 1 from Sungai Buloh through the city centre to Kajang, with 31 stations, cost RM21 billion, below the budget of RM23 billion.