ERL's 30-year concession extended for another 30 years

PARLIAMENT | The government has extended the 30-year concession contract of Express Rail Link (ERL) for another 30 years, according to Deputy Transport Minister Ab Aziz Karpawi

He told the Dewan Rakyat that the extension was given due to the government turning down the firm's request to review the rail fare on three occasions.

He revealed that under the initial 30-year contract, which expires in 2019, ERL was entitled to a fare review every five years.

“... When we do not allow them to increase (the fare), by right they should be compensated, (therefore) we extended the concession (contract) for 30 years," he said during the question and answer session.

In 2016, Ab Aziz said, the government decided to adopt a new approach by allowing ERL to raise their fare but set the ceiling at RM64.

Meanwhile, the deputy minister acknowledged that the concessionaire received a total of RM741.23 million in passenger service charge (PSC) from 2012 to September 2017.

He said ERL would no longer be able to collect PSC after 2029.

At present, ERL collects RM5 and RM1 in PSC from outbound international and domestic passengers respectively.

Ab Aziz also noted that ERL's ridership had dropped 19 percent to 8.9 million in 2016 compared with 11.03 million in 2015 after revising its fare to the present rate of RM55.

According to the deputy minister, the concessionaire has recorded losses after tax for six consecutive years from 2009 to 2014.

[More to follow]

- Mkini