PETALING JAYA, Feb 12 — A total of RM6.5 billion worth of contracts have been awarded for LRT Line Extension Project (LEP) in the Klang Valley and only 10 per cent of contracts are still in the tendering process, the project owners said today.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) project development group director Zulkifili Mohd Yusoff said 20 per cent of main work has begun on the Ampang and Kelana Jaya lines.

The initial budget for the entire extension was estimated to be around RM7 billion.

Zulkifili said the remaining contracts were for the Ampang depot and the electrical and mechanical works.

“For the Ampang line, a little over RM2 billion was awarded and for the Kelana Jaya line, RM2.5 billion,” he said.

He said 20 new trains for the Ampang line were worth RM1 billion. The system works, which included signalling and telecommunication, were worth RM1 billion.

Prasarana is 100 per cent owned by the Ministry of Finance.

Zulkifili said the relocation of utilities phase were about 90 per cent complete. That includes relocating underground cable, water pipes and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) lines.

The construction work for both lines was about 20 per cent completed, he said.

The Ampang line is expected to be open to the public by October 2014 and the Kelana Jaya line by December of the same year.

With the extension, it would take less than one hour to travel from Putra Heights to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), Zulkifili said.

“The land acquisition is not affecting our progress so much,” he said. “Our progress is more affected by other issues like Saujana Residency; we have to resolve certain social issues.”

One of the challenges was the concern of residents about noise from the track being too close to their homes.

Zulkifili said a sound barrier would be built over the tracks, making it look like a tunnel.

The Ampang line extension will start from the Sri Petaling station, passing through Kinrara and Puchong to end at Putra Heights. This will cover 17.7km, with 13 new stations.

The Kelana Jaya extension will start from the Kelana Jaya station, passing through Subang Jaya and USJ, before ending at Putra Heights. This will cover 17km, and also have 13 stations.

Zulkifili said because of the lack of space, only about half of the new stations will have car parks.

Some would have multi-storey car parks, with property development enhancing Prasarana’s rail and property model, he said.