Govt seeks out-of-court settlement with KVDT2 contractor

 

PARLIAMENT | The government has agreed to negotiate an out-of-court settlement following civil actions taken over its move to reopen tender for the Klang Valley Double Tracking 2 (KVDT2) project.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Takiyuddin Hassan (above) said the cabinet had last Friday agreed for the Transport Ministry to pursue discussions with Dhaya Maju-LTAT Sdn Bhd (DM-LTAT), the project's original contractor.

"In this case, I would like to stress that in any civil cases, the government is willing to negotiate an amicable settlement out of court.

"Last Friday, the cabinet agrees for the company to negotiate with the Transport Ministry and find a win-win settlement," the de facto law minister said in response to Anthony Loke (Harapan-Seremban) during Question Time today.

Loke, the former transport minister during Harapan's administration, had questioned whether PN's administration was open for renegotiations with DM-LTAT and avoid resolving the matter in court.

Takiyuddin said the government is now faced with three separate actions filed by the company, including a claim for damages over an alleged breach of contract.

DM-LTAT had in September filed a lawsuit to prevent the PN government from terminating its contract, after previously stressing that there was no basis for the move. 

The KVDT2 project spans 110km, involving two KTM railway tracks – one from Salak South to Seremban and the other from a point between Kuala Lumpur Sentral and Angkasapuri to Port Klang.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong on Aug 28 announced that the government will reopen bidding for the BN-era KVDT2 project which was halted and renegotiated via direct tender with DM-LTAT during the previous Harapan administration.

He said the decision was based on results of extensive study and investigation which found that the cost of the renegotiated project was still overpriced during Harapan's administration.

Wee at the time reportedly said the Harapan government had on July 5, 2019, decided to continue the project with DM-LTAT at a 15 percent reduced cost from RM5.265 billion to RM4.475 billion or a reduction of RM789.75 million.

However, he said Harapan's decision purportedly did not take into account findings of a Transport Ministry commissioned Professional Review Report (PPR) done in October, 2018, which concluded that the project actually costs RM3.398 billion based on DM-LTAT's original scope of work. - Mkini