KUALA LUMPUR: Two months after Scomi Group Bhd’s unit, Scomi Transit Projects Sdn Bhd (STP), signed a new settlement agreement with Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, STP is now on track to deliver three refurbished monorail train sets soon, to begin operations by Aug 16, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

They are part of five refurbished train sets promised to Prasarana. The remaining two are expected to be delivered three months after the first three are delivered, Loke told reporters after a “surprise visit” to the Kuala Lumpur Monorail Depot in Brickfields yesterday to check on the progress of the monorail trains.

“Today’s (yesterday) surprise visit is to see the work of progress for the monorail trains. They [Scomi] don’t have any preparation for me. But, according to them, all works are on track.

“I was also informed that all thorough checks have been carried out in May and the work of fixing the components had started since then. Thus, three sets of the monorail trains are now targeted to start operating by Aug 16,” Loke said.

Loke hopes that the addition of the three sets of four-car trains will be able to ease congestion issues currently faced by the service — a common complaint among passengers, especially during peak hours.

“Together, we also acknowledged that the current conditions for the two-car sets have room to improve in terms of providing comfort for passengers,” he added.

In early April, Loke announced that Prasarana and STP had entered into a RM303 million settlement agreement to resolve the disputes between the parties in respect of the Kuala Lumpur Fleet Monorail Expansion project that was terminated in 2016.

Under the settlement deal, STP has to repair five sets of four-car trains that have stopped operating since January last year, while Prasarana agreed to acquire seven sets of new four-car trains for the Rapid KL Monorail route.

The refurbishment of the five train sets costs RM181 million. The first three train sets will be refurbished within three months of the commencement of restoration works while the remaining two sets will be refurbished within six months of the start date.

As for the new train sets, they cost RM122 million and are targeted for delivery within 30 months from the signing date.