MRT Co takes over Klang Valley MY Rapid Transit project

PUTRAJAYA: A Finance Ministry Incorporated (Mentri Kewangan Diperbadankan, MKD) company, MRT Co, was approved Thursday by the Cabinet as the project and asset owner of the Klang Valley MY Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project. MRT Co will assume these roles from Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) with effect from Sept 1, 2011. The Government is also expected to appoint a Malaysian citizen as the chief executive officer of MRT Co at a later date.

“The Government is fully committed to the timely and cost effective delivery of the Klang Valley MRT project, which will have tremendous spillover economic benefits,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak. “In handling a project of this size and complexity, undivided focus and clarity in terms of project governance is of utmost priority. Ideally, and as we have heard from the public many times, having an efficient transport system in Klang Valley is extremely critical. “The Cabinet felt that it was necessary to have a dedicated unit focused solely on ensuring that our country's biggest ever infrastructure is implemented with undivided attention to detail, smoothly and effectively, while maintaining transparent governance throughout the process,” he added.

MRT Co will have a project management and technical team comprising experts in mass rail projects and will include expertise seconded from the current Prasarana MRT team. The team's scope of responsibility involves project monitoring and tracking of the construction of all elevated structures, stations, depots as well as underground works, including tunneling and stations. It will also be responsible for the commercial aspects of the project, covering contracts, procurement and dispute resolution as well as ensuring quality of delivery in terms of cost, scheduling and Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) requirements.

MRT Co's project management and technical team will be led by Marcus Levon Karakashian, who has been involved in the implementation of major rail projects over the past thirty years. Projects Karakashian has handled include, amongst others, Singapore MRT's Downtown, Northeast and East-West Lines as well as London's Jubilee Line extension. Karakashian will report to the chief executive officer of MRT Co. MRT Co's immediate and critical priority is to focus on ensuring the smooth implementation of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line.

Stakeholder engagements will also be a priority for MRT Co as it strives to deliver Malaysia's first KVMRT line on schedule, taking into account the interests of the nation, and the community at large. The other parties involved in the KVMRT project are the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), as the supervising agency, and MMC-Gamuda, as project delivery partner (PDP). Upon project completion, the operator of the KVMRT will be RapidKL, a subsidiary of Prasarana. As such, Prasarana will continue to play a critical role in the project, as its input and feedback during the construction phases will be beneficial to the eventual operations of the KVMRT.

As the Government supervising agency for the KVMRT project, SPAD's role is to fulfill its ultimate objective of providing Klang Valley residents with a comfortable, efficient and integrated public transport system. MMC-Gamuda serves as PDP to the KVMRT project. The PDP concept is an enhancement of the project manager role with built-in incentives and penalties that are designed to ensure that the interests of the PDP are aligned with the Government during project implementation. MMC-Gamuda provides a single point of accountability to deliver the entire project within the agreed time and cost targets, or face financial penalties.

With the incorporation of MRT Co, Prasarana will now be able to give undivided attention to its role of fulfilling an efficient and reliable public transportation service for the Klang Valley. Among the immediate tasks for Prasarana will be to focus on improving the current LRT service and line expansion projects, expanding Monorail capacity, improving existing bus services on high demand and congested routes, and ultimately achieving profitability in the near future.

-thestar online.