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August 05, 2006
Multi-tract Monologue
The frontrunners are Scomi Engineering-KL Infrastructure Group (KLIG), Melewar Industrial Group and MMC Metrail Sdn Bhd.
But who's gonna get the Penang monorail job?
"At this moment, all companies stand a fair chance of winning the bid for the project depending on how attractive the proposals are," said Avenue Securities analyst Kamarulzaman Hassan. [Business Times]
He's right, you know.
Just because the Prime Minister's son has an interest in Scomi, doesn't mean it will get the job.
You could give it to Syed Mokhtar-linked MMC Metrail. The company actually received a letter of exclusivity on Oct 1 2003 to build the monorail, but like several other projects awarded to Syed Mokhtar's interests under the Mahathir regime, it has since been "railroaded". (Wasn't the DRB-Hicom saga amazing?)
So if you wanted to be able to say, "Who says we're victimising anyone?", you could give MMC Metrail the job.
And if you wanna make some people in and from Negeri Sembilan -- as well as some people who have blood and political ties to the state, including you-know-who -- happy, you could award the contract to Melewar.
Isn't the cost of the project an important consideration, you might ask?
Of course. That's why for me, Melewar's bid is head and shoulders above the rest:
Documents provided by Melewar show that its total fixed lump sum cost for the project is RM1.58 billion, but the company is now looking at ways to see if the cost can be brought down, following a request from the Government.Melewar's current cost for the project is believed to be one of the lowest among the three known bidders.
... Melewar, a Negri Sembilan-based conglomorate, is proposing to build a 51.12km Hi-Track ultralight loop monorail system in Penang in 28 months, at a cost of RM30 million per km.
This is half the RM60 million per km average cost to build the monorail system in Kuala Lumpur. [Business Times]
Wait. It gets even better:
Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has said that the Malaysian Highway Authority and the Highway Planning Unit will submit the second link proposal for Penang to the Federal Government on August 8.He said there were two plans in the proposal - one for a bridge with monorail and the other, without.
Melewar is the only company bidding for the monorail job in Penang to incorporate a plan to link the island and mainland via a monorail.
And a lot, lot better:
Sources close to MMC Metrail said they were never asked to submit a plan to link the island and the mainland.
Isn't it wonderful that Melewar was "requested ... ", while MMC Metrail was "never asked ... "?
So Melewar's got everything going for it, and that's why I think it's gonna get the job.
WHAT ABOUT Scomi, you ask?
Imagine for a moment what you would gain -- "Who says Scomi gets everything?" -- by NOT awarding the contract to Scomi.
Huge, huge gain, especially where you need it the most.
In any case, there's always Francis Yeoh's bullet train project to look forward to. The good Tan Sri will need help with it, won't he?
Posted by aisehman at August 5, 2006 09:56 AM
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Comments
Everybody seems to be getting into the monorail act. The Johor Government had just issued a Letter of Exclusivity to Jalur Mudra S/B which is 30% owned by YPJ to "fund, design, build and operate" the project.
This one is destined for the Malaysia Book of Records: Phase 1 with an 8.67 km will cost RM1.3b, and average of about RM149.9m per km.
Exclusive..no open tenders.
Posted by: daniel at August 5, 2006 06:39 PM
Penang monorail - The idea of linking up to the mainland by Melewar is commendable but why didn't MHA/HPU request Metrail to propose likewise. You'll need to compare prior to finalising the winner.
If they can't even coordinate the planning stages, I wonder how they will handle the implementation.
JB monorail - The choice for maglev (Magnetic Levitation) type will be more expensive and require higher power consumption to operate as compared to an electrified rail system. Maglev technology is still new.
Based on daniel's estimation, it works out to between 2.1/2 and 5 times more per kilometer to build the maglev.
Posted by: shar at August 6, 2006 04:34 AM