George Kent hits limit-up as smaller-scale LRT3 to go ahead

George Kent is the project delivery partner for the Light Rail Transit from Bandar Utama to Klang.

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of George Kent, Gamuda and MRCB rallied on Thursday on news the light rail transit (LRT 3) would go ahead but at nearly half the original price tag.

At 4.32pm, George Kent had jumped by the maximum daily limit of 30 sen to RM1.29 while MRCB gained 14.5 sen to 72.5 sen.

Both companies are the joint venture partners in the 37-km long LRT 3 project  but the final cost  has been reduced by 47% to RM16.63bil. 

Earlier on Thursday, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the Cabinet gave its approval during the meeting on Wednesday and the final cost will enable Malaysians to save a total of RM15.02bil.  

The positive sentiment in the construction stocks saw IJM gaining nine sen to RM1.80.

The FBM KLCI was up 14.59 points or 0.86% to 1,703.36. Turnover was 2.38 billion shares valued at RM2.11bil. There were 548 gainers, 329 losers and 350 counters unchanged.

The construction of the LRT3 project will be restructured from a project-delivery-partner (PDP) model to a “fixed price contract” with the joint venture of MRCB and George Kent, he said.

“This will ensure that the price will be fixed and will not be subject to cost overruns. The details of this contract will be disclosed at a later stage,” Lim added.

The final cost will enable Malaysians to save a total of RM15.02bil.

The completion date for the LRT 3, stretching from Johan Setia (Klang) to Bandar Utama (Petaling Jaya), was extended from 2020 to 2024 to further reduce construction cost which was inflated.