MRCB-George Kent JV, Prasarana welcome LRT3 probe to allay all doubts

KUALA LUMPUR (July 30): MRCB George Kent Sdn Bhd (MRCBGK), the project delivery partner of the 37km light rail transit Line 3 (LRT3) project, said it has been cooperating closely with the finance ministry in reducing the cost of the project, welcoming media reports that the authorities have begun investigations into the LRT3 to determine if there were elements of corruption and financial mismanagement.

“We believe the current investigations will help shed more light on the cost escalation and the project’s scope expansion and [we] will cooperate fully with the authorities such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) when requested. We are confident that the outcome of these investigations will help allay public concerns and restore confidence that the LRT3 is a viable infrastructure that will be beneficial to the people,” it said in a statement on Saturday.

On its part, MRCBGK said upon commencement of the project in 2015, it had requested and received on secondment a senior officer from the MACC as an integrity adviser.

“This official was also appointed to the board of directors of MRCBGK to ensure full compliance, at the highest levels of leadership, with good governance and integrity in the execution of the LRT3 project.

“With the project in full swing, we had recently also requested and welcomed another MACC official into the project as chief integrity officer. These appointments and secondments are unprecedented and underscore MRCBGK’s commitment towards the principles of integrity, transparency and good governance in undertaking large-scale public projects,” it added.

In a separate statement, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, which owns and manages existing LRT lines, also gave its full cooperation to the MACC and other agencies investigating any element of corruption and abuse of power in the LRT3 project.

On July 10, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng revealed that the projected total cost of the LRT3 project had spiraled to a whopping RM31.45 billion from the original estimate of RM9 billion when the project was launched in 2015, blaming it on Prasarana’s poor management.

Guan Eng also revealed that Prasarana had sought an additional financing of RM22 billion in the form of government guarantees on March 30, on top of the initial RM10 billion granted in 2015 to finance the project.

On July 12, Guan Eng said the government agreed that the project would continue, but at a much lower cost of RM16.63 billion and a reduced size. The 37km line will connect Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya to Johan Setia in Klang.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 30 , 2018.
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