KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 24): After almost two years of suspension, the automated people mover system (aerotrain) at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is now targeted to resume operations by the second quarter of 2025, subject to the testing and commission progress.
"We should complete all tests [for the aerotrain] by April. We are confident to be operational by the second quarter," Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd or MAHB (KL:AIRPORT) managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani said at a briefing on the aerotrain project update on Friday.
The RM456 million project has faced several delays, with the previous targeted operational date being Jan 31 this year.
Izani Ghani said that the timeline given then was "overambitious".
He also said that adherence to technical requirements can sometimes lead to delays in certain processes.
The three-year aerotrain replacement project initially had two deadlines — July 2024 for the first aerotrain to be operational, followed by March 2025 for full completion, with both aerotrain services spanning about 1.5km coming online.
The aerotrain at the KLIA has been suspended since March 2023, after a massive shutdown resulted in passengers having to walk along the rail track in the rain halfway from the airport terminal when it malfunctioned.
In August 2023, MAHB decided to terminate Pestech International Bhd (KL:PESTECH) for the project, citing “non-performance, compromising significant project milestones, and risking delays in delivering the project within the required deadline” as the reasons.
However, in January 2024, MAHB then reached an agreement with a consortium involving subsidiaries of Alstom, Pestech and IJM Corporation Bhd (KL:IJM) to resume the project, targeting completion by March 31, 2025.
To expedite the project timeline, MAHB signed a new agreement with Alstom on June 14, 2024, in order to ensure the project's completion by Jan 31, 2025.
Last week, Loke expressed dissatisfaction with MAHB, citing inefficiencies and delays in addressing key issues such as the aerotrain replacement project.