Prasarana to abide by MoF instructions on LRT3

KUALA LUMPUR: Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) will abide by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) instructions on the cost reduction for the light rail transit line 3 (LRT3) project.
In a statement today, the state-owned transportation company said it was currently awaiting instructions from the MoF for the rigorous and comprehensive cost rationalisation to be approved.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, on Thursday, announced that the Cabinet had approved the continuation of the 37-km long LRT3 project but the final cost was reduced by 47 per cent to RM16.63 billion or savings of RM15 billion from the original cost of RM31.65 billion.
Lim said the cost included all project costs, including but not limited, to work package contracts, land acquisition, project management, consultancy fees, operational and overhead costs, as well as interest during construction.
Prasarana said it would also support the decision to remove stations with projected lower ridership from the alignment to further reduce cost in view of the financial constraints.
"Nevertheless, provisions have been made for new stations to be built, or existing stations to be upgraded when demand increases in the future," it said, adding that the Land Public Transportation Commission had also fully supported the MoF decision on the LRT3 cost rationalisation and reduction of stations.
The new LRT line is expected to serve two million people with the capacity to transport 36,700 passengers per hour each way.
On March 30, 2018, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd submitted the latest projected cost for the LRT3 project which amounted to RM31.65 billion and sought additional financing of RM22 billion in the form of government guarantees, on top of the initial RM10 billion granted in 2015 to finance the project. — Bernama