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KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 —
Earthwork formally kicked off today on the MRT’s first line from Sungai
Buloh to Kajang (SBK) but transport authorities here have admitted they have
yet to pin a total cost for the project, which has been described as the
country’s most expensive ever construction project.
The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) had previously announced that
Gamuda-MMC, the MRT’s project delivery partner (PDP), would have to bear
financial penalties should the project experience delays or cost overruns.
At the unveiling of the SBK’s final alignment today, reporters urged SPAD to
reveal the highly-anticipated project cost but no answer was given. |
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SPAD CEO Mohd Nur Kamal
(picture) explained that this was due to the realignment of the original SBK
line unveiled in February for public engagement, which he said had to
undergo “massive changes” to incorporate requests from the public.
“The final alignment has just been approved and there were many changes done
due to public feedback, massive amount of feedback and massive amount of
changes, to show that we are responsive to what people have asked for like
concerns over land acquisition.
“This resulted in changes in many areas, major reductions in land
acquisition, many tweaks to the refinements of the line... so we need more
time to finalise that,” he said.
He added that the project cost for the SBK line would likely only be
finalised in “August or September”.
Civil work for the construction of the line is also expected to commence by
year-end.
The MRT project has come under close scrutiny from the opposition, which has
criticised the government for, among others, appointing Gamuda-MMC as the
PDP without determining the likely cost of the project.
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