The government is expected to open the tender process for the first line of the mass rapid transit (MRT) project between Sungai Buloh and Kajang by April next year while construction commences in July.    

The tender process would be open to both local and foreign companies with expertise in handling MRT projects, Land Public Transport Commission (LPTC) chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal said today.

In a media briefing here, he said the project would be 100 percent funded by the government, and the Finance Ministry would set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) as the infrastructure funding entity.

"The fund raising exercise will be decided by the SPV," he said, adding that the funding exercise would not involve commercial borrowing.

He also said MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd which was appointed the project delivery partner for the MRT project, would not be allowed to tender any of the work packages except for tunneling works.

Asked on land acquisition issue, LPTC chairman Syed Hamid Albar said the commission was aware that land acquisition was one of the subjects that needed to be addressed.

It would not want the issue to stand in the way of proceeding with the project. "So, whatever that needs to be done, it being looked at," he said.

Malaysia's largest infrastructure project

The cabinet has approved the appointment of LPTC as the supervising and coordinating agency for the MRT project while Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd as project and asset owner.

The MRT, the largest infrastructure project in Malaysia, is an economic entry point project identified for the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley National Key Economic Area under the Economic Transformation Programme.

The implementation of the MRT project in the Klang Valley is expected to generate a Gross National Income of between RM3 billion and RM4 billion beginning next year until 2020.

Between RM8 billion and RM12 billion is expected to be generated in terms of spinoffs from the construction of the MRT project.

The project also would generate 130,000 jobs during the duration of its construction of five to six years.

- Bernama