Kuala Lumpur, 12 June: More than 1,000 construction companies nationwide are eyeing the 40 percent civil works portion of the RM44 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project following a Pre-Qualification (Pre-Q) exercise to identify potential subcontractors.
A total of 1,321 submissions from CIDB registered companies were received by ECRL’s main contractor, China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC), during the Pre-Q exercise on 29 & 30 May 2019.
Participation of G7 category of CIDB rated companies topped the list with 859 submissions or 65.0 percent. This was followed by the Grade G5 category with 134 submissions and Grade G4 category with 132 submissions. The remaining consisted of Grade G3 and Grade G6 with 104 submissions and 92 submissions respectively.
Bumiputera participation was also very encouraging. The 2-day ECRL Pre-Q exercise had recorded submissions of 994 Bumiputera engineering and construction companies representing 75.25 percent of the overall registration.
The impressive number of submissions in the Pre-Q exercise is a further endorsement of the improved RM44 billion ECRL project as its rail network would traverse the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang as well as the states of Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya.
The level of enthusiasm shown by Malaysian construction companies in particular from the G7 CIDB rating companies augurs well with the increase in civil works participation for local contractors from 30 percent to 40 percent of the ECRL project as per the inking of the Supplementary Agreement (SA) between MRL and CCCC on 12 April 2019.
In view of the impressive turnout by local contractors during the 2-day Pre-Q exercise and with Bumiputera contractors being the majority of those who participated, it shows that our local contractors are more than ready to demonstrate their willingness and capabilities to participate in mega infrastructure projects.
MRL, being the ECRL Project owner, highly encourages our local industry players especially local contractors to proactively seize any opportunities to participate in the ECRL Project not just as contractors but also as suppliers, consultants and other relevant scopes. It is our hope that our local contractors can bring their A-game and able to demonstrate their capabilities, their technical know-how and to offer their services competitively.
“We also hope that ECRL Project will be an exemplary Government project that demonstrates the capabilities of our local contractors to work with an international contractor in carrying out and meeting the high standards of a large-scale infrastructure project,” said MRL Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Sri Darwis Abdul Razak.
“With the participation of local contractors, this will not just act as stimulus to the local construction sector but will also serve as a catalyst in the transfer of knowledge and technology in view of the ECRL Project to be among the most challenging engineering and construction projects in Malaysia,” Darwis added.
“As such, we hope that Malaysian local contractors would highly benefit from the co-operation and sharing of knowledge and technology that will, in the end, maximize the commercial impact of the Malaysian Government’s investment by increasing the competitiveness and also improvements in the quality of products and services provided by the Malaysian contractors,” said China Communications Construction (ECRL) Sdn Bhd Managing Director Mr. Bai Yinzhan.
Following the Pre-Q exercise, MRL will be working closely with CCCC in the evaluation and shortlisting process of 1,321 construction companies to be potential tenderers of the ECRL’s civil works packages. Companies that are successful in the shortlisting will be notified in writing by CCCC.
MRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Incorporated, is the project and asset owner of the ECRL. The 640-km rail network is scheduled for completion by December 2026 and is expected to link Kota Bharu to Putrajaya in approximately 4 hours.
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Released by the Corporate Communications Department of Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd. For further information, please contact: Rosmah Mahmud at (03-6411 5800 ext. 5830 / [email protected]) or Yong Min Wei at (03-6411 5800 ext. 5835 / [email protected]).