KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and China are in talks of establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to undertake a rail industry empowerment programme, which involves leasing of passenger trains, says the Transport Ministry.
The ministry said both countries had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on April 16, to strengthen cooperation in the railway sector.
“The government has, in principle, agreed to implement the Railway Industry Empowerment Programme through the leasing of passenger trains under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement between the government of Malaysia and the government of the People’s Republic of China,” it said in a parliamentary written reply dated Nov 5.
It said bilateral discussions are currently underway to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will be responsible for implementing the programme.
”The establishment of the SPV will take into account the government’s decision that 51% of the shareholding shall be held by a Malaysian government-owned company,” it added.
The ministry was responding to a question by Yeo Bee Yin (PH-Puchong) on the latest status of the procurement of electric multiple units (EMU) through a leasing arrangement, as well as the status of the government’s acquisition of a 51% stake in CRRC Rolling Stock Centre (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
CRRC Rolling Stock Centre, is currently 70%-owned by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co Ltd, while the remaining 30% is held by CRRC (Hong Kong) Co Ltd. It operates an assembly plant in Batu Gajah, Perak
It was previously reported that Malaysia would lease 62 new passenger train sets from China for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) by 2027. This is set to cost RM10.7bil for 30 years.
The leasing arrangement includes maintenance, repair and overhaul, and is intended to ensure that KTMB has a sufficient number of trains in service.
