KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): The long-delayed final stretch of the RM8 billion electrified double-track (EDT) rail between Gemas (in Negeri Sembilan) and Johor Bahru (Johor) — which was supposed to be completed in 2008 — seems to finally be moving forward.

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) put up an advertisement in local media yesterday to invite public inspection of its plan for the project, which details the route of the double-track rail spanning 197km in length, with the new alignment’s designated speed at 160kph.

The Edge weekly reported in early August, quoting sources, that a Chinese consortium led by China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC) is in the last leg of negotiations to bag the project, and that CRCC would be working with a local partner in the project.

In September, the business weekly reported that construction outfit Fajarbaru Builder Group Bhd was in talks with CRCC for a slice of the RM8 billion rail project.

When contacted yesterday, Fajarbaru non-executive director Datuk Ir Low Keng Kok said: “We cannot comment on the matter yet. We are a listed company [so] if there is any new development or [appointment as a] new partner, we will announce through Bursa Malaysia,” he said. “As a contractor that has been involved in this kind of rail project before, what I can say is that we are keen on this project as well,” Low added.

Fajarbaru’s portfolio includes the 95km EDT from Seremban to Gemas. The group bagged the construction job for the stretch, known as Package II (Km 502.6 to Km 535.5, Tampin to Batang Melaka) on May 23, 2008, from Ircon International Ltd; the contract was worth some RM316 million at the time. Ircon is the abbreviation for the Indian Railway Construction.

The EDT project was revived in 2007 after being scrapped in the tail end of 2003, with the MMC-Gamuda consortium being given the mandate to build the 330km stretch from Ipoh to Padang Besar for RM12.5 billion, while Ircon was given the 95km stretch from Seremban to Gemas for RM3.5 billion.

In the advertisement yesterday, MoT said the project from Gemas to Johor Bahru involves the construction of electrified double-track between the two places, and the construction of a new station. It also requires the interfacing and integration of existing signalling, communications and overhead line electrification systems with the existing Seremban to Gemas double-tracking system.

MoT said it had submitted the route plan, details of the route alignment and other related items to the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) for public inspection which display from yesterday to Jan 26, 2016 at, among others, Spad’s headquarters and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Also submitted for public inspection is the book of references with the names of proprietors and lessees of the land required for the project. MoT said all comments or objections to the project must be submitted in writing to the Spad chief executive officer before Jan 26, 2016.

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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Oct 28, 2015. Subscribe to The Edge Financial Daily here.

 

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