A consortium comprising Melewar Industrial Group Bhd (MIG) and Putera Capital Bhd last month submitted a bid to design, build and operate the Penang monorail system.
The bid was submitted on the closing date of the tender, November 14.
The monorail project is believed to be worth more than the estimated RM1.6 billion for the previous proposed monorail job.
MIG managing director and chief executive officer Tunku Ya'acob Tunku Abdullah said the RM1.6 billion was the estimated cost for the proposed loop system.
"The loop involves one line only, so it is cheaper. Now the project involves longer route and double-track. Of course, it will be more than RM1.6 billion," he told a news conference after the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement between MIG's wholly-owned subsidiary Melewar Metro Sdn Bhd and Putera Capital in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Also present were Melewar Integrated Engineering Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Uwe Ahrens, Putera Capital chief executive officer Wan Azman Wan Salleh and Putera Capital director Kamil A Rahman.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding is a prelude to cooperation between both parties in the proposed Penang monorail project. Melewar Metro submitted its bid through Melewar Metro (Penang) Sdn Bhd (MMP).
Both parties have also agreed to sign a share sale agreement later on the acquisition of a stake in MMP, where Putera Capital would acquire 20 per cent of MMP.
The previous proposed Penang monorail project was based on private funding initiative. This time around, the government, through Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, will provide the funding, and the private sector has been asked to submit tenders as contractors of the project.
Steel maker MIG and civil and structural expert Putera Capital are confident that their consortium would win the bid for the Penang monorail job.
However, they were tightlipped about the cost of their proposed bid. - By Business Times
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