KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no impact on the Mass Rapid Transit Line 3 (MRT3) project, despite the three-month extension sought by MRT Corp.
This, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke, is because contract awards have yet to be finalised, with the Finance Ministry making the decision.
"At the end of last year, we announced that the budget for land acquisition had been approved.
"We will start with the land acquisition process for the MRT3 Circle Line," he said, after his working visit to Selangor Road Transport Department yesterday.
Loke said this when asked about the impact of the three-month extension on the project timeline.
On Dec 29, Business Times reported that MRT Corp sought another three-month extension, to March this year, to finalise tenders for the multi-billion-ringgit rail development.
This marks the fourth extension requested by MRT Corp since the middle of last year, adding an air of suspense to the much-anticipated project.
When contacted for updates on the circle line project and its tender process, an MRT Corp spokesperson said the project's status was as per Loke's announcement on Dec 21 that MRT Corp would start securing the MRT3 land corridor as early as the second quarter of 2024.
On Dec 22, Loke, when addressing the media after the lease agreement signing ceremony between MRT Corp and the Federal Lands Commissioner, revealed that the land acquisition process for the MRT 3 Circle Line project would commence in stages from next year, spanning a two-year timeline.
The acquisition process is expected to involve 1,012 lots of land, covering 842 private lots, 133 government lots, and 37 lots of unknown ownership.
However, he noted that the alignment for MRT3 had yet to be finalised, leaving some aspects of the project subject to further clarification.