NOD for PENANG BRIDGE & MONORAIL; UEM Group AWARDED Bridge Project ON a SILVER PLATTER; Proposals for MONORAIL; BULLET TRAIN considered

ABOVE:2nd Penang Bridge 2nd Link - Approved and awarded on "a silver platter" to UEM Group
BELOW: MONORAIL approved - proposals from qualified players (SCOMI & PPSB see below )



The government gave its nod to the Private Finance Investment (PFI) Penang Bridge and Monorail projects. The other bullet train project between KL/Singapore is also given serious consideration. The decision showed the government commitment to streamline the privatization programme via the PFI encouraging the private sector to be the catalyst for economic growth.

UEM Group was awarded the Penang bridge project and qualified companies to submit proposals. The well connected and the rich will continue to increase their fortunes by political pull, by having government grant them favors and franchises. There is no change in government policies.

Below: YTL propose KL-Singapore Bullet Train - seriously considered

Malaysia Awards Penang Bridge Project to UEM, Approves Monorail

Updated : 02-08-2006 Media : Bloomberg; Story By : Stephanie Phang

Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia has approved the construction of a bridge and monorail project in northern Penang state, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi said.

The Cabinet approved the two projects, which will be privately funded, at its meeting today, Abdullah said in a statement on his Web site. The government will also consider a company's proposal to build a high-speed railway between Singapore and Malaysia, he said.

UEM Group will be given the concession to build, manage, and operate the bridge, a second link between Penang island and the mainland of Peninsula Malaysia, the statement said. UEM Group operates an existing Penang bridge. The government will invite ``qualified'' companies to submit proposals for the monorail, it said, without giving the value of the projects.

Prime Minister Abdullah is aiming to bolster the economy with a 200 billion ringgit ($54 billion) development budget for the 2006 to 2010 period as record oil prices threaten global demand for Malaysia's exports this year. The nation in March announced an 18 percent increase in public development spending in the five-year plan.

The projects announced today will be funded by the companies undertaking them, under a so-called private finance initiative. Under Abdullah's five-year plan announced in March, the government had planned for an additional 20 billion ringgit in projects which would be financed by companies that aren't government-controlled.

Rail Link

Abdullah said last month Malaysia may consider a high-speed rail link between the capital Kuala Lumpur and Singapore proposed by YTL Corp., and may invite other companies to make alternative proposals.

YTL, which runs the train service from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the city, said last month it's in talks with the government for a rail link to Singapore. The company plans to take its rail unit public to raise as much as 8 billion ringgit ($2.2 billion) to fund the project if it gets the concession for the line to Singapore.

The government views the proposal for the rail link ``positively'', Abdullah said today. It will order a study on the social and economic impact of the project before proceeding with it, he added.

and the account from Bernama

Cabinet Nod For Penang Monorail & Second Penang Bridge
August 02, 2006 19:10 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- The Cabinet Wednesday gave the green light for the Penang monorail and second Penang bridge projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to be built through the private finance initiative (PFI).

Announcing this here today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also said the government would study the proposed bullet train project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

For the Penang monorail project, eligible companies would be invited to submit proposals for its implementation, Abdullah, who is also Finance Minister, said in a statement issued from his office in Putrajaya.

As for the second Penang bridge project, he said the concession to build, manage, operate and maintain it would be given to the UEM Group as it was the concession holder for the Penang bridge built in 1985.

"UEM is also a company which has extensive expertise and experience in such projects," he added.

As for the bullet train project proposal submitted recently by YTL, the infrastructure group, he said the government viewed it positively.

He said the government would ask for a socio-economic study to be undertaken to scertain its impact on national interest before proceeding with the project.

Through the PFI, Abdullah said the financial risks associated with the projects would be borne by the private sector while the government could use their expertise and fficiency to undertake complex infrastructure projects.

The government would provide the support and facilitate the undertaking of these projects by the private sector, he said.

This showed the government's commitment to further streamline the privatisation programme via the PFI, besides encouraging the private sector to be the catalyst for economic growth. -

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UPDATE: Aug 04 60

As to eligible bidders for the PENANG Monorail, BERNAMA has reported back in June 26 2006 (see below)that SCOMI would be submitting proposals “winthin weeks”. Anymore contenders?

Scomi To Submit Final Proposal For Monorail Project Within Weeks; June 26, 2006 19:07 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Bernama) -- Scomi Engineering Bhd will be submitting its final proposal for the proposed monorail system in Penang within the next few weeks.

"We are working with a few parties to produce a more detailed final submission.

"We have submitted a preliminary proposal," senior vice president, Hilmy Zaini, told reporters after the company's annual general meeting here Monday.

He said Scomi's portions of the project involved supplying the technology and fabricating monorail cars.Hilmy, however, did not reveal the names of Scomi's partners in the project.

There are at least three groups bidding for the project, and the Melewar group had already announced it could build the system for RM1.58 billion.

Hilmy said Scomi's participation would be through MTrans Transportation Systems Sdn Bhd, which owned the technology and was also involved in fabrication of the monorail cars.

"Scomi is currently awaiting approval from the authority for the acquisition of 51 percent stake in MTrans, which was announced in April.

"If it goes according to plan, the acquisition of MTrans should be completed in a week or two as there are no major issues.

"Scomi has already completed the legal, financial and technical due diligence on MTrans," he said.

Meanwhile, chairman Datuk Zainun Aishah Ahmad said in the annual report that Scomi was confident of securing some of the infrastructure projects in the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

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from SUN

http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=14990

PPSB proposes RM1.1b monorail for islanders
Mohd Tajudin Updated: 06:01PM Thu, 03 Aug 2006

PENANG: Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) had last week submitted a proposal to construct an estimated RM1.1 billion monorail for the island.

PPSB's announcement follows the Cabinet approval for the second bridge to be constructed by UEM Group and the decision to make an open tender for the monorail project.

PPSB managing director/CEO Datuk Ahmad Ibni Hajar said PPSB is confident to land the project due to its massive experience in the logistic and transportation business for the past 50 years.

"We believe PPSB is the only Penang-based company to bid for the project. It is fair for Penangites to reap the benefits as the bridge project was given to Kuala Lumpur-based UEM," he said in a press conference in his office here today (Aug 3, 2006).

"We have also been doing social service by operating the ferry services for more than 40 years. The losses have escalated from just hundreds of thousands of ringgit a year in 1985 (when the Penang Bridge was opened) to RM13 million last year.

"We also estimate that in the next five years, we will be losing RM30 million and this will be much worse when the second bridge is completed," he added.

Ahmad said PPSB first submitted its proposal to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister's Department in March 2005, while the feasibility study was conducted in August the same year.

"Our proposal consists of three phases of construction. Phase 1 is an 18km link from Bayan Lepas Airport to the ferry terminal, Phase 2 an 11km connection from the ferry terminal to Paya Terubong and Phase 3 a 9.5km link from Komtar to Tanjung Tokong," he added.

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Work On Second Penang Bridge To Begin Middle Next Year; August 03, 2006 18:19 PM

PENANG, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- Work on the 24-kilometre second Penang bridge is to start in the middle of next year, after the state government completes land acquisition for it.

Disclosing this, Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the state government was waiting for a detailed report on the land-ends of the bridge at Batu Kawan on the mainland and Batu Maung on the island.

He said much of the land to be acquired for the project belonged to the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and as such the process of providing the needed land would be made much easier.

"The engineering design of the bridge is also expected to be completed soon," he told reporters after opening the Penang Housing Symposium, here