KL–Klang busway project shelved

The RM2 billion Kuala Lumpur–Klang bus rapid transit (BRT) project—a 34-kilometre exclusive bus lane to run along the Federal Highway—has been shelved indefinitely, as reported in The Edge Financial Daily.

Construction of the busway was supposed to begin in 2014 but was deferred. According to a report, part of the route—covering the stretch from Pasar Seni in Kuala Lumpur to Subang Jaya—was supposed to be constructed between November 2014 and April 2016, and the remaining portion from June 2015 to December 2016.

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) eventually rolled out the tender for the project in January 2017, which was subsequently closed on May 2. Some of the bidders to undertake the project on a build-operate-transfer structure were said to include Gamuda Bhd, Sunway Construction Group Bhd, George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd, and WCT Holdings Bhd.

However, the SPAD procurement division recently posted a notice on the website stating, “Tender for Kuala Lumpur to Klang BRT project is hereby annulled. SPAD would like to thank all the bidders that responded to this tender.”

No explicit explanation was given then, but Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri told the Dewan Rakyat that upon a thorough study, the government decided to cancel the BRT as it will overlap with the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) 3 project.

Busway Plans

In April 2017, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the government would roll out the KL–Klang project by 2019. The service will feature 25 stations and would integrate with three main urban rail networks. The busway was expected to benefit some 1.9 million people in the Klang Valley, with a forecast daily ridership of over 400,000 persons.

The KL–Klang BRT was the most important corridor of the 12 BRT projects identified by the government back in 2009. Totalling 215 kilometres within Klang Valley, the entire BRT network was expected to cost RM18 billion,  at a conservative rate of RM84 million per kilometre, according to a CIMB research report. The first BRT was the Bandar Sunway line, launched in June 2015. It was built on a public-private partnership model at a total cost of RM634 million, equivalent to RM117 million per kilometre. — Construction+ Online