SEPANG (June 5): Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said on Thursday that he would reveal the progress of the aerotrain project at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) next week.
“I will invite you to the KLIA next week to take a first-hand look. We will ensure you, the media, try [it] first,” Loke told the press following the launch of the Selangor Aero Park here.
The 25-year-old aerotrain service was suspended in March last year after a major breakdown that resulted in 114 passengers being stranded midway. This happened in the midst of its replacement programme.
The RM742.95 million aerotrain replacement project was originally awarded to Pestech International Bhd and Alstom Transport Systems (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd in 2021, to be completed by March this year. In August 2023, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) terminated Pestech from the job, citing "non-performance, compromising significant project milestones, and risking delays to deliver the project within the required deadline".
But in January 2024, Pestech was reappointed as contractor for the aerotrain replacement project, as part of a consortium comprising Alstom, IJM Construction Sdn Bhd and Pestech, under a new agreement to bring the project back on track. The completion date was then brought forward to Jan 31 this year.
Then on Jan 24 this year, MAHB said the aerotrain was targeted to resume operations by the second quarter, instead of the "overambitious target" of Jan 31. It also said repair works and upgrades costing RM456 million had been done, and that the new aerotrain service was undergoing test runs.