KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — Gamuda-MMC is said to be the lead contender for Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) tunnelling works worth RM8 billion after submitting the lowest bid for the job.

Business Times, quoting sources, said today the Gamuda Bhd and MMC Corp Bhd consortium had put in a bid of RM7 billion, the lowest of five bidders who tendered for the tunnelling portion of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line.

Other bidders included China’s Sinohydro Group, China Railway Corp, Japan’s Taisei Corp and Gadang Holdings Bhd-Hyundai.

Sources close to project manager MRT Corp told the business daily the bids ranged between RM7 billion and RM12 billion.

“Gamuda-MMC stands a better chance to win the job. It has a seven per cent buffer on top of being the lowest bidder,” a source told Business Times.

MRT Corp chief executive officer Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said recently that local companies were preferred for the RM50 billion KVMRT, unless it could not find the necessary expertise here.

Gamuda-MMC — which was appointed to manage the project last December — and Gadang Holdings Bhd-Hyundai are the only two local bidders for the tunnelling job.

Azhar had also said MRT Corp preferred to award the job to the lowest bidder.

The tenders are now being evaluated by independent consulting engineers (ICE). The contract is expected to be awarded by the end of next month at the earliest.

Yesterday, MRT Corp appointed SPC Industries Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of Kimlun Corp Bhd, to supply segmental box girders to certain packages of the KVMRT project for RM223.2 million.

MRT Corp had earlier awarded two construction packages worth RM1.74 billion to IJM Corp Bhd and Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd.