This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 21, 2025 - July 27, 2025
THREE consortiums are believed to have submitted their respective proposals to the Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) to build the elevated autonomous rapid transit (e-ART) system in Johor Bahru.
These are the consortiums of MMC Corp Bhd-DOM Industries (M) Sdn Bhd, WCT Holdings Bhd (KL:WCT)-Lion Pacific Sdn Bhd, and YTL Corp Bhd (KL:YTL)-SIPP Rail Sdn Bhd, according to sources.
WCT and YTL declined to comment on the ongoing exercise, while MMC had not responded to The Edge’s request for comment as at the time of writing.
Previously, a consortium consisting of Theta Edge Bhd (KL:THETA) and Ancom Nylex Bhd (KL:ANCOMNY) was one of the interested bidders. However, negotiations between the parties to finalise the consortium lapsed in April.
“Ancom Nylex is no longer the bidder of the project, but it will play a supporting role to the MMC-DOM consortium,” says a source close to the company. Other parties in the proposed consortium were LBS Bina Group Bhd (KL:LBS), Sinar Bina Infra Sdn Bhd and BTS Group Holdings PCL.
“It must have something to do with the bumiputera requirement,” says an industry observer, who declines to be named. “That’s why Ancom Nylex decided to pull out of the race, and now they’re going to be supporting MMC-DOM.”
On March 12, UKAS published a request for proposal (RFP) notice for the proposed e-ART in Iskandar Malaysia.
Among the eligibility criteria is the requirement that the participating companies, whether as a single entity or joint venture/consortium, have a minimum 30% bumiputera shareholding, while foreign equity ownership is capped at 49%.
They must also have a minimum net worth of RM500 million in the preceding five years, available credit facilities of not less than RM750 million, as well as having completed one contract with a minimum value of RM500 million in the construction and transport industry within the last 20 years.
In the case of JVs or consortiums, at least one of the members must comply with the requirements.
MMC is fully owned by tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary through Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd.
DOM Industries, meanwhile, is 51%-owned by Adil Sayeed Ghulam Mohammed and 49% by Noorfazliyani Mustafa Kamal, according to information available on the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
The other two consortiums are also believed to have met the 30% bumiputera shareholding, either through listed companies WCT or YTL, or their respective partners Lion Pacific and SIPP Rail.
The project is expected to be awarded by year end.
The JB e-ART system is a crucial infrastructure to alleviate traffic congestion in the city.
With the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2026, a public transport system within southern Johor is needed to disperse the passengers coming through the cross-border metro system.
The 4km rail line connecting Bukit Chagar in JB to Woodlands North in Singapore has the capacity to handle 10,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd). Without an RTS to disperse the passengers, JB city would be choked with traffic.
Prior to the e-ART, Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) had in 2016 proposed a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system for the region. However, this did not take off despite the project having been endorsed by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2017.
The BRT was shelved as it did not have the capacity to handle the projected traffic for the region, especially with the JB-Singapore RTS coming into the picture. The likelihood of the BRT worsening road congestion was another reason it was shelved.
The e-ART is basically an unmanned BRT with an elevated guideway. It has a passenger-carrying capacity of between 5,000 and 12,000 pphpd, depending on the number of carriages.
The same system is being developed in Kuching, Sarawak, for the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project. However, KUTS would be largely at grade, rather than elevated, and is powered by hydrogen fuel.
It is worth noting that DOM Industries, through a JV with China Railway Electric Engineering Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd, is a system contractor for KUTS Phase 1, after winning a RM448 million system work package contract in 2022.
MMC, WCT, YTL and Lion Pacific are not strangers to railway projects in Malaysia, each having extensive system and construction experience through the MRT Kajang Line, MRT Putrajaya Line, LRT Extension project as well as LRT Shah Alam Line (LRT3).
For example, WCT is involved in the construction of viaduct guideways, stations, park and ride, and ancillary buildings for the LRT3 and MRT Putrajaya Line, as well as the Johan Setia Depot for the LRT3.
Its partner Lion Pacific has also done railway construction, such as the KTM Komuter spur line to Subang Airport, as well as the extension of the LRT Ampang Line to Putra Heights.
YTL’s rail-related construction works range from the Express Rail Link (for which it is the concession holder) to the RM9.5 billion Gemas-Johor Bahru Electrified Double Track project (EDT), which it won together with SIPP Rail.
As the exercise is an RFP, the bidders are allowed to propose different systems as long as they meet a set of objectives listed by UKAS. The JB e-ART must cover three main corridors — Skudai, Tebrau and Iskandar Puteri, with Bukit Chagar being the city’s main interchange station.
The RFP exercise should be concluded next month. It was previously reported that the JB e-ART would have 32 stations and cost nearly RM7 billion. It is not clear whether the estimated cost includes land acquisition.
In comparison, the civil construction cost for the first phase of the Penang LRT project secured by SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd does not include the land acquisition cost. The cost is pegged at RM8.31 billion.
Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) has a 60% stake in SRS Consortium. Penang LRT Phase 1 will stretch for 23.7km between Komtar in George Town to Island A of the Penang South Reclamation project.
The federal government had previously budgeted a contract sum of RM10 billion to RM13 billion for the Penang LRT project.
With the JB-Singapore RTS nearing completion in about 18 months, the state is running short of time to build an efficient public transport system in JB, as thousands of passengers are expected to descend at the Bukit Chagar station every hour for their daily commute across the Johor Strait.
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