-  The EdgeWeekly reported that interest on the KL Monorail Extension from KL Sentral to Old Klang Road has resurfaced, with a further link down south towards Bandar Sunway. A number of stations are to be located within areas such as KL Eco City (SP Setia), Taman Desa, Taman Gembira, Plaza OUG, Taman Sentosa and Taman Dato’ Harun.

-  MRCB is believed to have submitted a proposal to Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) last month, while other companies such as IJM Corp are looking to submit their own proposals. Our initial checks indicate that the new monorail route could either follow the Klang River or run parallel to the NPE highway – with most stations being located within Old Kang Road that are densely populated within limited land available for redevelopment.

-  Under an earlier proposal, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) had intentions to build a new monorail line from KL Sentral to Taman Gembira, near Old Klang Road. The plan back then was to either connect the proposed extension to the Ampang LRT line in Awan Desa or Puchong. But there was no follow-through with the plan due to insufficient funds.

-  However, the project appears to have been given a new lease of life when Scomi Engineering’s President of Rail Suhaimi Yaacob was quoted in an interview as saying that the group was keen to take the KL Monorail project private and extend the line to Bandar Sunway with a budgeted cost of ~RM3bil.

-  We understand that three new stations would now be added into the extended alignment; i.e. Taman Sentosa, Taman Dato’ Harun and Bandar Sunway. This is in addition to the eight stations being mooted under the original plan.

-  Furthermore, The Edge Weekly quoted Ho Chin Soon as saying that it would be feasible for this new line to intersect with the new bus rapid transit (BRT) system - currently being built by the Sunway group and SPNB. Meanwhile, we understand that the 9 Seputeh mixed-used development at Taman Seputeh by Gapurna Group has received approval to construct a covered walkway linking the development to a monorail station.

-  Apart from funding issues, questions still linger on the feasibility of this extension project in lieu of the monorail system’s speed and capacity – which some quarters believe is more suited towards inner-city traveling. While nothing has been finalised, we nevertheless believe the Scomi Group – possibly via a tie-up with IJM – could emerge as a front-runner.

-  Scomi is the technical partner and supplier of systems and trains for the existing KL Monorail service which it built. Scomi is also currently contracted by SPNB to upgrade the current service. Part of the RM494mil-project includes the upgrading of train sets from twocar to four-car sets to alleviate congestion during peak hours.

-  The monorail extension would also likely lift passenger connectivity and vibrancy within MRCB’s KL Sentral development. Likewise, Gapurna’s 9 Seputeh integrated development (17.4 acres) is set to benefit from the covered monorail link to the monorail station. Phase 1 featuring serviced apartments (from 782 sq ft) are priced at RM750psf, with retail and SoHo units being offered at RM900psf and RM800psf respectively.

Source: AmeSecurities