MRT Corp: Danainfra to issue another round of sukuk

New Straits Times, 23 July 2014

PETALING JAYA: MRT Corporation expects Danainfra Nasional Bhd to issue another round of sukuk by year-end for the purpose of financing the Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT project. When asked about the expected value, MRT Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Wira Azhar Abdul Hamid said it would depend on the company's cash flow requirements at the time, but noted, it would not be big.

"Currently, the amount of funds raised via sukuk is RM11 billion, whereby as of June 30, we spent about RM8.03 billion of that to pay contractors, project delivery partners, consulting engineer fees, project supervisor and insurance.

"The next round of sukuk issuance will not be that big as we still have some funds left from the previous issuance. We are trying very hard to control our spending," he told a media briefing on the MRT project expenditure here today.

Danainfra, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Incorporated, was established for the specific purpose of being a social funding vehicle for the government to source for funds to finance infrastructure projects by it.

Overall, Azhar said some RM30 billion is expected to be spent on the MRT project. On new contracts, Azhar said there were seven minor work packages with a total value of about RM300 million to be tendered out later this year, including for office furniture and LED lighting packages.

On the MRT's progress, the company today announced that as of June 30, overall underground work progress is at 63.34 per cent complete, while tunnelling progress stands at 65.9 per cent.

When asked about the agreement between MRT Corporation, as the owner, and Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, which had been appointed by the government as the operator, Azhar said nothing had been finalised yet.

"We did have a discussion with the Secretary-General to the Treasury, Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah on the matter, and there will be some sort of agreement between the two parties with regards to how the MRT infrastructure is going to be operated.

"Nothing is yet finalised, but discussions will continue after the Hari Raya holiday," he added.

On the possible integration between the Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT Line and the proposed third Light Rapid Transit (LRT 3) line from Bandar Utama to Klang, Azhar said the company has yet to have any discussions with Prasarana on it.

"We need to plan before we do this integration. So far, we had not had any discussion on the matter.

"If the planning happens late, it will incur more costs, as more changes need to be made," he added.—Bernama

(Web Source: http://www.nst.com.my/node/16670)