No major construction cost increases until completion of RTS Link — deputy finance minister

• Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying said that construction of the RTS Link is expected to be completed by December, except for the facade construction works at the Bukit Chagar Station in Johor Bahru, which will continue until 2026.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 10): The government does not anticipate any significant cost increases for the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link infrastructure project until the end of the construction period, as the project is in its final phase.

Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying said that construction of the RTS Link is expected to be completed by December, except for the facade construction works at the Bukit Chagar Station in Johor Bahru, which will continue until 2026.

“All work contracts have also been awarded,” she said while wrapping up the motion on the Auditor General’s (AG) Report debate in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

Lim also said the RTS Link operations will be commercially managed by RTS Operations Pte Ltd, a joint-venture company between Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Singapore’s SMRT.

The deputy finance minister said the fare for RTS travel needs to be set at a reasonable and affordable rate, subject to the ability to ensure operational route requirements are met.

According to the AG's Report Series 2/2024 released on July 4, the estimated infrastructure cost of the RTS Link had increased by 29.9%, or RM1.207 billion, to RM5.245 billion as of Dec 31, 2023, compared with the original estimated cost of RM4.038 billion in January 2018.

The RTS Link is a 4km shuttle train network connecting Malaysia with Singapore, covering the route between the two stations in Bukit Chagar and Woodlands North in Singapore respectively.

Meanwhile, touching on MRT Corp’s dependence on the government, Lim said the government is exploring leasing methods for rail system components, including trains, to reduce the financial burden on the government in the future.

“MRT Corp is a company established specifically to implement rail infrastructure projects. Therefore, civil structure construction costs are usually fully funded by the government,” she said.

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