Masnizam will be in charge of ensuring the success of the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro-Southern Line project in Saudi Arabia, the training of mass rapid transit (MRT) workers in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Prasarana infrastructure development, including the procurement of trains, buses and depots.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prasarana Malaysia Bhd aims to reduce the purchase from foreign suppliers for operation and maintenance (O and M) by 20 per cent in five years by increasing the participation of local vendors in the railway industry.
President/Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Masnizam Hisham, said currently the ratio was 80 per cent foreign and 20 per cent local suppliers.
“In our tenders we have already made it compulsory for suppliers to have 30 per cent of local contents and on top of that we are also encouraging localisation to have more technology transfers and for them to get local partners for some of the supplies,” she told reporters at the signing of agreements with strategic local rail industry partners here today.
Prasarana signed the agreements with two local vendors Amantronic Sdn Bhd and LCE Resources Sdn Bhd, a landmark collaborations in the development of local talents in the country's rail business.
Chief Infra Services Officer, Ahmad Nizam Mohd Amin, signed for Prasarana, Amantronic was represented by CEO, Mohd Izwan Shah Mohd Sabri Daniel and LCE Resources by its Director Thai Kam Weng.
She said Malaysia, which did not have an industry that supplied trains, was dependent on foreigners.
More local players must come up and seek the opportunities in the booming industry by keeping up with the standard requirements and be competent enough to receive the technology, she said.
“With the Industrial Collaboration Programme (ICP) incorporated in the the tenders in collaboration with Technology Depository Agency (TDA), we have put a condition of five per cent additional bonds to ensure that the suppliers make all possible efforts to cooperate with local vendors in technology transfers as well as for market access overseas.
“This ICP bond is in addition to performance and advance payment bonds, and would be forfeited if the conditions are not met,” Masnizam said.
On top of that, she said, the government has also made it compulsory for foreign suppliers to have at least 30 per cent local contents in their rolling stocks.
Masnizam said Prasarana was now working closely with TDA and Malaysia Rail Industry Consortium as well as other rail operators to create the volume to make it more enticing for locals to invest in the industry.
She said the rail system has been in operation for over 20 years and many parts needed to be maintained and replaced due to wear and tear as a lot of components were obsolete.
This involved high financial costs and has a long lead time delivery, she said.
For rail O and M, she said, Prasarana would spend about RM350 million a year for light rail transit ( LRT) as well as the mass rapid transit, she said.
“With less dependency on foreign products, working with local partners can reduce the O and M cost while targeting for 20 per cent of cost efficiency and optimisation.
“We expect to reduce by five times in costs by working with local firms as we do not have to cater to foreign exchange and freight costs as well as it helped improve the turnaround time alongside nurturing local industries,” she said.
Under the agreement, Amantronic is given authority to promote and market the on-board Rail Lubrication System, which was developed by Rapid Rail in mitigating noise issues for Kelana Jaya LRT trains.
LCE Resources, on the converse, is appointed for the development of Kelana Jaya line LRT platform Screen Door System located at five underground stations ? Masjid Jamek, Dang Wangi, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Ampang Park. - Bernama
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