Penang Monorail

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Just looking forward to the day when Penang gets the Monorail as part of the improved transport system. As it is during this holiday period as in any others traffic is really congested in certain parts at certain times of the day.

News - Friday December 14, 2007
Melewar, Putera Capital submit monorail proposal
       
KUALA LUMPUR: Melewar Industrial Group Bhd and Putera Capital Bhd have submitted a proposal to the Government for the turnkey design of and to build and operate Penang island’s monorail system.

The proposal was delivered on Nov 14, which was also the closing date of the tender. 

Melewar managing director and chief executive officer Tunku Datuk Yaacob Tunku Abdullah said the decision to submit the bid was not an idea that occurred overnight.

Melewar had initiated the monorail proposal back in 2003 but the project later became a government-funded one instead of a private financing initiative, he told reporters after the signing of an agreement between the two companies yesterday. 

Tunku Datuk Yaacob Tunku Abdullah (second from left) and Putera Capital director Kamil A. Rahman exchanging documents. With them are Uwe Ahrens (left) and Putera Capital chief executive officer Wan Azman Wan Salleh.
He said the initial proposal involved a loop system valued at about RM1.6bil. The current monorail system, however, involves a longer dual track, hence the higher price.

The consortium’s proposal involves a tender compliant offer as well as three alternative offers. 

Without divulging the proposed cost, Yaacob said the suggested model utilised steel structures, which were less disruptive to traffic, and facilitated faster deployment and were more cost effective than other compositions.

“Steel is pre-fabricated, lightweight and requires little piling for the foundation. By putting up the facilities faster, the monorail owner would be able to generate revenue more quickly,” he said, adding that this would also reduce interest payments on financing.

While the consortium does not have a track record in building monorails, its technology partners, Russia’s Transstroy Corp and Intamin Transportation from Switzerland were involved in the Moscow monorail. 

Melewar Integrated Engineering Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Uwe Ahrens said the success of such public transport systems lay in their design and implementation, and not the type of train, which only represented less than 7% of the total expenditure for the proposed development. 

Instead, the success was in the slim and light design for efficient stations, together with intelligent and expeditious installation and construction methods, he said. 

The company, he added, had also been invited to participate in the pre-qualification for the Mumbai monorail project in India, which would close end of this month. 

End Of News.