MRCB gets letter of intent for KVDT job

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on March 21, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has received a letter of intent (LoI) from the government to upgrade the Klang Valley double-tracking (KVDT) system for around RM850 million.
Sources familiar with the matter said the LoI was issued by the Ministry of Transport last week to the MRCB-DMIA JV. 
The budgeting was done in June last year under the National Key Result Areas (NKRA).
The KVDT line is for Rawang to Seremban and Port Klang to Sentul, involving 150km of double-tracking work.
Business Times reported recently that MRCB had expressed interest to the government to upgrade the KVDT system for about RM5 billion. The amount includes building a new 110km bypass line linking Serendah with Port Klang for around RM2 billion.
According to the source, the LoI was issued without a clear scope as a study on the upgrading of the KVDT system has not yet been completed. 
It is understood, the government appointed Mott Mcdonald in December last year to do a full scale study on the KVDT system and the bypass line. 
The study on the KVDT system, which was built in the early 1990s by Indian Railway Construction for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB), will be completed in early June. 
"KTMB will have to come up with a general scope so that MRCB-DMIA JV can submit a proposal and negotiate directly with the Economic Planning Unit," the source added. 
The KVDT line is important for KTMB as it offers an alternative mode of transport for commuters and helps alleviate traffic congestion on the Federal Highway. 
The bypass line would help divert cargo traffic from the main KTM freight line between Rawang and Seremban, which is facing a bottleneck. 
"The existing system was built under sub-standard effecting the current railway performance as it is running on old technology. It needs to be upgraded to the current standard of railway operations. There will be major upgrading, including track change, fencing and drainage," the source said. 
MRCB and little known DMIA were partners for the beautification and upgrading of Little India and other developments in Brickfields here. 
DMIA is 50.4 per cent owed by Subramaniam Pillai Sankaran Pillai, 20 per cent by Datuk Salehudin Abdullah, 15.2 per cent by Jacqueline Earthayanathan and the rest by Nazreen Ahmad.