MRT Corp welcomes decision to restructure Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya line

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) said today it welcomes Putrajaya’s decision to change the project structure from the project delivery partner (PDP) model for the construction of the elevated portion of the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) MRT line.

CEO Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar said the company also accepted the decision to terminate the current contractor for its underground works and retender the work package.

“The successful negotiations involving the Ministry of Finance, MMC-Gamuda KVMRT Sdn Bhd as PDP of the SSP Line, and other parties demonstrates MRT Corp’s commitment towards helping the government achieve its objective,” he said in a statement today.

He reiterated that the reduction of construction cost for the 38.7km elevated section of the SSP Line from RM22.64 billion to RM17.42 billion was significant and represented good savings for the government and taxpayer.

The CEO said the scope reduction involved in the cost rationalisation exercise did not involve reducing the number of elevated stations, which would remain at 24.

“The current progress for the elevated works is 30 per cent,” he added.

Meanwhile, for the SSP Line underground works, Shahril said MRT Corp will urgently work towards getting the new tender exercise off the ground, which would be opened up to international companies.

“Once a new underground works contractor is appointed, MRT Corp will ensure a smooth handover from the previous contractor MMC-Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd.

“As with all previous tenders carried out by MRT Corp, we will ensure that the retendering process is absolutely transparent,” he said.

Shahril said, however, the termination and retendering process would be relatively complex as the underground works are currently 39 per cent complete.

He said the timeline for this process would be established once the details are confirmed.

“As a result of this, as well as the move from the PDP model to that of a turnkey contract for the elevated works, we believe that the overall construction timeline for the SSP Line will have to be reviewed,” he said.