Disclose MRT Line 3 tender documents, MP tells MRT Corp

KUALA LUMPUR: The MP for Serdang has called for the tender documents for the massive MRT Line 3 project to be made public.

Ong Kian Ming noted that it was normal for these documents to be sold to potential bidders and not be available for public scrutiny.

“But given the cost of this project, the changes in the construction and financing terms, and high level of public interest, I call upon the tender specifications of the MRT Line 3 to be publicly disclosed to answer many of the questions which have been raised by journalists, financial analysts and Members of Parliament.”

He said in a statement that in his dealings with MRT Corp over the MRT Line 2 as Serdang MP, he had always found its CEO Shahril Mokhtar and his staff to be very professional and responsive to public feedback. The MRT Line 2 runs through the Serdang constituency.

He said he was, therefore, surprised to read yesterday the statement by Shahril not to politicise the tender timeline for the MRT 3 project. The tender period for the MRT Line 3 project has been limited to 45 days.

“We have the necessary experiences, and we know they [the bidders] can do it. These are regular railway players in the market, and they are certainly not new to our processes and requirements,” he was quoted as having said.

Shahril, Ong said, should have expected great public scrutiny when the construction and financing model for MRT Line 3 – expecting to cost between RM35 to RM40 billion – was changed from a Project Delivery Partner (PDP) model to a turnkey model.

Ong asked: “Since the turnkey contractor is also responsible for 90% of the financing of the MRT Line 3 project, will the same incentives and punishments as the PDP model be used for MRT Line 1 and Line 2?”

He took MRT Corp to task for saying the alignment of MRT Line 3 had not been decided and would only be confirmed by the end of 2018.

Ong said: “If the alignment is not confirmed, how can the bidders for the turnkey contractor accurately assess the total cost of building the MRT Line 3?

“For comparison, the MRT Line 2 alignment went on public display in May 2015 and the first tender for the project’s advanced works was accepted only in November of that year. The packages for the underground portion and the first viaduct package were only awarded in March 2016, almost a year after the public display of the alignment.

“Now, not only will tendering companies have to draw up their proposals very quickly, the full specifications of the project including the route alignment will only be known after the tender closes.”

Shahril had yesterday said the construction of MRT Line 3 was expected to begin by the third quarter of 2019 and be completed in about 75 months. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, and the second phase by September 2026. -FMT