MRT Corp prepares tender for Line 2, project display in Q2

MRT Corp CEO Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar (inset) took members from the media on a walk through the 1km tunnel between Cochrane and Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) stations yesterday. - Art Chen/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp), which recently obtained conditional approval for the MRT Line 2 alignment that included a minor change, is planning the initial tendering process for the multi-billion-ringgit public infrastructure project by year-end.

Chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar (pic) said it was prepared to carry out the MRT Line 2 three-month public display latest by the second quarter of this year.

“The conditional approval from the Land Public Transport Commission for Line 2 gives us room to consider the current development to tweak the alignment.

“Instead of going into Pandan, we are now looking to go through Bandar Malaysia, considering that the development of the high-speed rail (HSR) project connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore will be there too.

“It could be a loss of the Pandan catchment for us, but be rest assured that Pandan is going to be covered in the development of the MRT Line 3, for which MRT Corp has been asked to do a feasibility study by the Government,” he told StarBiz on the sidelines of visits to the Cochrane and Tun Razak Exchange stations yesterday.

The final alignment for the MRT Line 2 is targeted for approval in August.

The MRT Line 2, even after the revised Budget 2015, remains a priority development that has been spared a spending cut alongside the LRT 3 project, the HSR project, the Pan-Borneo Highway and the Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development project in Pengerang at a total development expenditure of RM48.5bil.

The RM23bil MRT Line 2 will span from Sungai Buloh to Serdang to Putrajaya with about 40 stations, depending on the final structure of the alignment, and is expected to be completed within five years.

Meanwhile, the MRT Line 3 is an orbital train system running around the Kuala Lumpur city centre, supposedly to seamlessly connect all urban rail systems in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area.

On the cost of the MRT Line 2, Shahril expected it to be higher than the first line due to the escalation of prices in resources such as wages and currency exchange.

He explained that it could also be possibly lower, depending on various factors such as land acquisition cost, the length of the alignment, as well as the cost of other resources that could fluctuate over the span of four years since MRT Corp started the development of the MRT Line 1, which is the 51km rail system from Sungai Buloh to Kajang with 31 stations.

On the contractors, Shahril said companies with experience in the MRT Line 1 would have the competitive edge to be involved in Line 2.

MMC Corp Bhd and Gamuda Bhd have been appointed again as the project delivery partner of the MRT Line 2.

The overall progress of the MRT Line 1 was at 58.5% as at the end of last year. The underground and most expensive portion of the maiden line was currently 10 weeks ahead of schedule at 73.13%, while the elevated section stood at a 49.2% completion stage.