Putrajaya Monorail RFP to be called January 2019 – report

PETALING JAYA (Nov 24): The Transport Ministry and Putrajaya Corp, the owner of the Putrajaya Monorail project, will issue a request for proposal (RFP) in January next year, after which contractors may submit their proposals for the long-delayed rail project, a source told The Edge Malaysia.

“The government seems to be committed to reviving the project, despite the financial constraints it is facing,” said a source who works at an engineering company.

An engineering consultant reckoned the project will cost RM1.4 billion to RM2 billion, excluding land acquisition costs.

While this figure is still lower than the cost of other larger infrastructure projects such as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT 2) and the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT 3) projects, the government’s budgetary constraints means private sector-led financing for the Putrajaya Monorail may be on the cards.

The project, which originally began as a light rail transit (LRT) system within Putrajaya, was converted into a Monorail project after taking into account the insufficient population density of the administrative capital.

The Monorail’s original plans entailed two lines – Line 1 being 13.2km with 18 stations and Line 2 being 6.8km with seven stations, according to a traffic study undertaken by Perunding Trafik Klasik Sdn Bhd.

The first line, which was completed in the early 2000s, was built by MTRans Monorail Sdn Bhd, which was subsequently acquired by Scomi Engineering Bhd and became Scomi Rail Sdn Bhd.

Work on the Monorail was suspended during Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership due to budgetary issues, resulting in the first line, comprising the underground section along Persiaran Perdana and the elevated portion between Presint 9 and Putrajaya Sentral lying dormant and unused.

The project’s revival was first mooted in 2016 when MMC Corp Bhd submitted a proposal to the Economic Council, following the government’s investment into the Klang Valley MRT project.

Engineers tell the publication that while the Putrajaya Monorail’s cost would have risen three times since, it would be a waste to not complete the project especially since the first line is already completed and could be easily rehabilitated, given that it is meant to last 100 years.

“What is left is to build the overhead civil structures, electrification, signalling, communications and rolling stock,” said an engineer.