KUALA LUMPUR: Reducing the order of 42 sets of 6-car trains to 22 sets of 3-car trains are among the key steps undertaken by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd in rationalising the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) project cost from RM31.65 billion to RM16.63 billion.
The public transportation company said based on the feasibility study of the LRT3 project, the 22 sets of 3-car trains is more than sufficient to cope with the anticipated passenger demand until the year 2035 before additional 3-car trains need to be ordered.
Other measures include reducing the construction size of the LRT train depot due to the significantly reduced number of LRT trains to be acquired.
Further, the company also streamlined the size and design of the LRT stations based on Kelana Jaya LRT line standards instead of being benchmarked against the much larger MRT stations.
On Wednesday, the government has approved the continuation of the LRT3 project at a final cost of RM16.63 billion, during cabinet meeting.
Finance minister Lim Guan Eng said the final total cost of the LRT3 project is reduced by 47 per cent from RM31.65 billion to RM16.63 billion, saving Malaysians a total of RM15.02 billion.
“This cost will include all project costs, including but not limited to work package contracts (WPC), land acquisition, project management, consultancy fees, operational and overhead costs, as well as interest during construction,” he said in a statement.
In addition to the above, Prasarana has also shelved the construction of 5 stations with very low projected passenger ridership until such a time the demand is deemed necessary for these stations to be built.
These provisional stations are Lien Hoe, Temasya, SIRIM, Bukit Raja and Bandar Botanic.
Other key measure under the rationalisation exercise include cancelling an unnecessary 2km tunnel for the LRT together with an underground station at Persiaran Hishamuddin, Shah Alam.
Also, the extending of timeline to complete the LRT3 project from 2020 to 2024 in order to further reduce construction cost which was inflated due to ‘acceleration costs’ ie to speed up the project incurs additional costs.