(AFP) The government is reconsidering plans to take over the debts totalling six billion ringgit of two light railway operators, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said today.

"We have not decided whether to buy back (the assets) or come up with another plan to make the trains' (operations) more viable," Mahathir told reporters.

Last December the government announced it would take over the debt from the two private light rail transit (LRT) firms as part of a major restructuring of Kuala Lumpur's public transport system.

The acquisition was to be financed through a series of bond issues and the railway networks would be leased back to the private firms to operate.

The city has 56 kilometers (35 miles) of LRT track, run by Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan (Star) and Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik (Putra). Putra is owned by debt-ridden conglomerate Renong.

Opposition parties at the time criticised the deal as another "bailout" of favoured firms. The government said the 1997/98 regional financial crisis made it difficult for the companies to repay capital or raise new loans.

Mahathir said the LRT business was unprofitable because the public expected "a service which is world class but they are not quite willing to pay world class fare."

"If they are allowed to charge the full fare, they will be very successful because the ridership of Putra for example is very high, almost three million passengers a month," he said.

The premier did not elaborate on what he meant by full fare.

Apart from buses the LRT lines were the first public transport system in the traffic-clogged city of 1.5 million people. But usage has failed to meet expectations.

The Business Times this month, quoting banking sources, said the government may miss a June 30 deadline to repay debts of the LRT firms because of a delay in issuing bonds to raise the money.

Earlier today, Mahathir launched a Malaysian-made monorail train and said he hoped the trains would eventually be exported.

The trains are produced for a separate monorail system, expected to be operational by July next year, to service the busy central business district in Kuala Lumpur.