KUALA LUMPUR – The construction of the LRT3 project, known as the Shah Alam line, has reached 91.86% as of December last year, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
In presenting Prasarana Malaysia Bhd’s 2023 report and 2024 prospects today, Loke said that Phase 1 of the project, which covers a 37.8-km track and 20 existing stations, was on schedule to commence operations by March 1, 2025.
For the revived construction of an additional five stations with an allocation of RM4.7 billion, which is considered Phase 2 of the project, the minister said that it would take some time for building works to begin once Phase 1 was completed.
“The five optional stations which have been revived will take two or three years to be implemented, so our projected date (for Phase 2’s completion) remains (sometime in) 2027,” Loke said.
Previously, Loke told the Dewan Rakyat that the construction of the revived stations would not delay the start of operations for the line, which will connect Shah Alam and Klang residents to the rest of the Klang Valley.
It was previously reported that the RM4.7-billion allocation would cover construction costs, including provisions to support the five stations’ power supply, distribution and communication systems.
The allocation will also be utilised for the procurement of three units of three-car train sets to maintain the six-minute headway for LRT3, since the journey time for each train from end-to-end will be slightly longer with the additional stations.
In a response to Scoop previously, Prasarana said that the allocation would run the gamut of infrastructure requirements and be utilised on key priority areas under the project’s approved scope.
The five stations were previously shelved in 2018 during Pakatan Harapan’s first stint in federal government as part of cost-cutting measures.
The move saw the overall price tag of the LRT3 project being reduced to RM16.63 billion from the RM31.7 billion under the Barisan Nasional administration.
During the tabling of Budget 2024 in October last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the revival of the five stations was expected to improve the public transport network in the Klang Valley and benefit two million citizens at a cost of RM4.7 billion.
During a visit to the Tropicana area, Scoop spoke to several residents who welcomed the project’s recommencement as good news due to the increased ease of public transport access. – January 9, 2024