KUALA LUMPUR: Three local consortiums and one from China have submitted their turnkey bids with financing for the mass rapid transit (MRT) Circle Line, following the close for tender oon Thursday.
New Straits Times, 19 January 2018
KUALA LUMPUR: Three local consortiums and one from China have submitted their turnkey bids with financing for the mass rapid transit (MRT) Circle Line, following the close for tender oon Thursday.
Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd said the consortiums are Sapura - TIEC Consortium; MMC-Gamuda–George Kent Joint Venture; Pacific–Mudajaya–JEC Consortium and China Communications Construction Company Ltd–China Communications Construction Company (M) Sdn Bhd JV.
In a statement today (Friday), MRT Corp Circle Line project director Datuk Zohari Sulaiman said the majority of the tenderers were local consortiums that have been able to fulfil the requirements in participating in thie tender.
“The high participation in this tender, which commenced on November 15, 2017, has proven critics wrong, especially those who said that the turnkey tender model would close the opportunity for local companies to participate,” added Zohari.
The closing date for the submission was originally set for Dec 29 last year. It was, however, extended until Thursday as MRT Corp deemed fit a longer period for bidders to finalise their best financing proposal.
MRT Corp will evaluate the technical, financial standing and financing package. After this, it will recomend to Ministry of Finance for the government's decision and approval.
The contract is tentatively set to be awarded by end-March.
The MRT Circle Line is expected to be 40km in length, of which 32km will be underground with 26 stations planned along the alignment.
The line, which will run around the periphery of Kuala Lumpur city centre, will intersect with as many of the Klang Valley’s urban rail network, expanding its coverage and providing greater connectivity to commuters.
MRT Corp will now work on detailed forecast ridership study, detailed environmental impact assessment, social impact assessment and heritage impact assessment.
Zohari said the turnkey tender allows MRT Corp to seek the best option for funding the project because "we will try and get the lowest cost in financing.”
He also said if the financing package options were not favourable, “we will revert to the old financing structure that is through DanaInfra.”
MRT Corp decided to tender the project out on a turnkey basis, as opposed to a direct appointment of contractor or a consortium because this would encourage a more competitive financing option for the new project structure.
To ensure strong local participation in the project, MRT Corp enforces requirement for Malaysian and Bumiputera participation in the project as one of the conditions of the turnkey contract. Stringent mechanism will be set in ensuring compliance by the successful tenderer.
“MRT Corp will ensure that our Bumiputera Agenda is carried on with the Circle Line, as how we have been championing for the first and second MRT lines namely the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line and the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line,” said Zohari.
(Web source: https://www.nst.com.my/business/2018/01/326797/4-parties-submitted%C2%A0turnkey-bids-mrt3)