The completion of the Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) project may face delays as the project owner, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, is allegedly interfering in the appointment of subcontractors for the project by its main contractor MRCB-George Kent Sdn Bhd.
The Malaysian Reserve, citing an informed source, said that the turnkey contractor has refused to give into Prasarana's demands for "more say" but that this has resulted in MRCB-George Kent being given “a hard time” on its progress payment by Prasarana.
The source said that a high-ranking individual in Prasarana requested that MRCB-George Kent award a work package worth a substantial amount to a particular firm.
This firm, the source claimed, is politically linked to a senior figure in Prasarana, hence raising the issue of conflict of interest for the urban public transport operator.
The source refused to name any personnel or the company involved but stated that the issue has caused a “big clash” among Prasarana’s management which had led to Prasarana’s president and group CEO Muhammad Nizam Alias going on “temporary leave” as of last month.
“The package involved works worth some RM300 million, which MRCB-George Kent already has its contractors to work on, but there was interference from Prasarana asking the contractor be given to another firm, which is wrong because MRCB-George Kent was appointed as the turnkey contractor."
The source said this meant that Prasarana could not dictate who MRCB-George Kent should give the project to, and due to this, it had delayed progress payments to MRCB- George Kent amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit.
MRCB-George Kent is a 50-50 joint venture of Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd and George Kent (M) Bhd.
The LRT3 project started in August 2015 with an initial budget of RM10 billion to serve some two million people along the Bandar Utama-Johan Setia route, before costs escalated to a whopping RM31.65 billion.
It was among several mega infrastructure projects reviewed by the federal government after Pakatan Harapan came to power in May 2018.
On Jul 19, 2020, Prasarana chairperson Tajuddin Abdul Rahman announced that construction work on the LRT3 is due for full completion on Feb 28, 2024.
He added that as of Jun 30, 33 percent of the project has been completed. The project stretches 37.8km, connecting people in the western corridor of Klang Valley with Kuala Lumpur.
It was also previously reported that MRCB-George Kent had aimed to complete over 40 percent of the project by the year's end, but the source indicated that this is now in jeopardy due to the withheld payments.
The LRT3 is expected to benefit more than two million people in these areas and handle about 67,000 commuters every day before the greater Klang Valley urban rail system is completed.
Besides reducing traffic congestion especially along the Kuala Lumpur-Klang Federal Highway, the LRT3 which integrates with the Kelana Jaya LRT line at the Glenmarie Station is also expected to act as a catalyst for economic growth. - Mkini
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