Both projects will cost RM64 billion and are part of the government’s ambitious Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) roadmap launched today.
Among other big-ticket items outlined in the ETP are a nuclear power plant and hydroelectric dams which will cost more than RM20 billion.
According to the ETP roadmap, phase one of the MRT system construction is targeted to begin operations in 2016.
It will be about 156km long, covering a radius of 20km from the city centre and have a capacity of two million passengers per day.
The Cabinet will also decide on whether to move ahead with a high-speed rail (HSR) system linking Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in the second quarter next year, according to the ETP roadmap.
Current estimates for the MRT and HSR systems places the cost as RM64 billion over the next decade, with a public-private investment ratio of 70:30, where public funds are expected to account for RM38 billion and RM12 billion for each system respectively.
Construction of the HSR system will begin in the first quarter of 2012 if the Cabinet gives the green light and is expected to be operational in 2016.
The door-to-door journey from KL to Singapore will take about 2.4 hours as opposed to three hours by air, according to the Greater KL lab during the unveiling of the ETP last month.
The Malaysian Insider had reported in June that a Barisan Nasional component party had submitted an RM8 billion to RM10 billion proposal to build a high-speed rail link to Singapore on a joint venture basis with other component parties.
A previous high-speed rail link proposed a few years ago by developers YTL failed to take off.
The government has also recommended for the private sector to link the public transport infrastructure projects to property development in a bid to increase its contribution to investment, citing Hong Kong MRT operator (MTR Corporation) as a benchmark case with over 55 per cent of its profits derived from property development and rental.
“International examples have demonstrated how investments in public transport infrastructure can be cross-subsidised through capturing the potential from monetising the air-space development rights on and around rail stations, especially stations in areas with high commercial potential,” stated the ETP document.
Besides the massive MRT and HSR systems, the ETP has also identified a twin-unit nuclear power plant and five hydroelectricity dams as alternative energy projects to the tune of more than RM20 billion in investments each.
The nuclear power plant with a total capacity of two gigawatts is planned for construction at an estimate of RM21.3 billion in investment up to 2020, with the first unit in operation by 2021.
Once operational, the two one-gigawatt plants are estimated to generate a gross national income (GNI) of RM1.8 billion annually from the electricity generated.
Nuclear energy would supply the cheapest source of energy and was also cleaner than coal and gas, according to the ETP document.
In August, Nuclear Agency Director-General Datuk Dr Daud Mohamad had said that Malaysia’s first nuclear power plant may be built on an uninhabited island, following an announcement by Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin in May that the federal government had approved the construction of a nuclear power plant.
Malaysia is the first country in Southeast Asia to announce a nuclear power plant, a sensitive matter in the Asean grouping that has always espoused a nuclear-free zone. Malaysia now relies on a combination of fossil fuels and hydro-power to generate electricity.
Environmentalists and alternative energy producers, however, have criticised the approval for Malaysia’s first nuclear power plant, saying it was rushed through without adequate public consultation given the risks of radioactivity.
Meanwhile, the construction of five hydroelectricity dams in Sarawak with a total capacity of five gigawatts will require an investment of RM20.2 billion, which is expected to be funded by the private sector through a government-linked company (GLC).
This alternative energy project is predicted to generate a GNI potential of RM5.7 billion in the country’s largest state by 2020.
“Most of the GNI will come from energy-intensive industries operating within Sarawak, which will generate income to the state totalling RM4.5 billion and have a further GNI multiplier effect in the region.
“The remaining RM1.2 billion of GNI will come from providing power to Sabah, Brunei and Kalimantan through land transmission,” stated the ETP document.
