KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — MRT Corporation has awarded viaduct construction contracts valued at RM1.738 billion for the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Mass Rapid Transit line to experienced builders IJM Construction Sdn Bhd and Ahmad Zaki Sdn Bhd, the project owner said today.
Both companies are units of the public-listed IJM Corporation Bhd and Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd respectively.
MRT Corp has also renamed the network as My Rapid Transit (MRT) from the former name Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT).
“Ahmad Zaki Sdn Bhd will be appointed the main contractor for Package V6: Construction and Completion of Viaduct Guideway and other Associated Works from Plaza Phoenix to Bandar Tun Hussein Onn Station with a contract value of RM764 million,” MRT Corp said in a statement.
MRT Corp has yet to estimate the cost of the SBK line although earlier projections were at RM40 billion including land acquisition which has delayed the start of the project.
The project owner said both awards are subject to the successful tenderers accepting the Letter of Award to be issued in due course.
“After stringent and comprehensive evaluation by the One Stop Procurement Committee (OSPC) chaired by YAB Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, MRT Corp is pleased to announce this award to IJM Construction and Ahmad Zaki.
“Both companies are helmed by an experienced management team and have a solid track record of delivering projects on time and within costs,” MRT Corp chief executive officer Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said in the statement.
He expressed confidence the contract awards will spur momentum for the MRT project.
“MRT Corp will ramp up our efforts to publicly announce the tender and award schedule for the various work packages and encourage all qualified contractors to participate.
“It is our intention that all works packages will be subject to competitive bidding. Let me emphasise that all bidders will have equal opportunity in the tender process and the winning bid will be strictly based on merit,” he said.
The MRT, meant to ease traffic congestion in the Klang Valley, is Malaysia’s most expensive infrastructure project to date.
Construction of the SBK line will begin in the second or third quarter and is scheduled to be completed by end-2016, with services commencing in January 2017.
The SBK line will cover a distance of 51km, of which 9.5km — including seven of the 31 stations — will be underground.
