KUALA LUMPUR: The government will have to bear a huge cost if they were to reopen a new tender to appoint the project delivery partner (PDP) for the Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) project, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Lim also questioned why the former administration had agreed to the project even after there was an increase in the cost from RM9 billion to RM31.65 billion.
“We can only review the project so we can reduce the cost. There is no other choice. If we stop the project we need to pay a compensation of RM4.2 billion and we really need the project (LRT3),” he said during minister’s question time in the Dewan Rakyat here today.
Lim held this as one of Pakatan Harapan government’s biggest success, in that, the main aim was to continue on with the project but at a reduced cost.
He said this in response to the additional question from Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (BN-Kepala Batas), who had asked him why the government kept the same PDP after the company had failed to deliver and failed to keep to the RM9 billion budget.
It was reported earlier that the Cabinet had approve the continuation of the LRT3 project at a final cost of RM16.63 billion.
Lim had said that the cost of the LRT3 for the Klang Valley was reduced by 47 per cent from RM31.65 billion, thus saving Malaysians RM15.02 billion.
The 37km line, Lim said, aims to alleviate traffic congestion along one of the most important and densely populated economic development corridors in the Klang Valley, from Klang to Petaling Jaya.
The LRT3 is expected to serve an area with a population of two-million people, with the capacity to transport 36,700 passengers per hour each way.