Opening Remarks By Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Bin Haji Hassan Chief Secretary To The Government And Chairman Of The MRT Exco

OPENING REMARKS
BY TAN SRI MOHD SIDEK BIN HAJI HASSAN CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT
AND CHAIRMAN OF THE MRT EXCO

(Yang berbahagia Dato’ Sri, Dato-Dato, Tuan-Tuan dan Puan-Puan)

First and foremost, it gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to this simple but very significant ceremony in the development of our MY Rapid Transit, or the Klang Valley MRT project.

As chairman of the MRT Exco, I have to say I have been waiting for a long time for this ceremony to take place. After so much effort that has gone into getting the construction of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line started, I am very happy that MRT Corporation Sdn Bhd can finally formalize the appointment of MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture (PDP) Sdn Bhd as the Project Development Partner of the project. I would like to congratulate MRT Corporation and MMC-Gamuda for their hard work at the negotiation table that has resulted in with today’s signing.

No less important is the agreement for the appointment by MRT Corporation of the consortium consisting of HSS Integrated Sdn Bhd and SNC-Lavalin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd as the Independent Checking Engineer for the project which will also be signed today.

The other two documents which are also being inked today are also very significant in our quest boost transparency and integrity in the corporate sector, namely the signing of the Integrity Pact between MRT Corporation and MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture (PDP), and the Corporate Integrity Pledge between MRT Corporation and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Today is historic because what we are seeing is the formalization of an arrangement which is the first of its kind in Malaysia. The term “project delivery partner” has never been heard before in Malaysia and it will be very exciting to see how this new kind of partnership will benefit Malaysians in terms of project development and management, especially infrastructure projects for the benefit of the public at large.

The appointment of MMC-Gamuda JV as the PDP enables the MRT project to be rolled out efficiently in phases as opposed to using a turnkey contractor as well as appointing an engineering consultant to take on the role of the project management consultant (PMC).

A PDP provides a single point of accountability to deliver the whole project within agreed time and cost targets, and a failure to do so will incur financial penalties.

The PDP will only be paid in full should the total cost of the project be less than or equal to the target cost. If the project cost is more than the Target Cost, the PDP fee shall be reduced in accordance with an agreed formula. In the traditional model where an engineering consultant is made the PMC, there would be no such penalty and no accountability for outcome.

Public interest is protected as the PDP takes on the delivery risk in terms of time and cost, and not the Government.

I am sure more of the benefits of the PDP model will be discussed during the media conference later.

I would also like to congratulate HSSI and SNC-Lavalin for formalization of their appointment as Independent Checking Engineer. Once again, we are faced with an interesting new term, “ICE”, and I’m sure the role of these two renowned consultancies will go a long way in ensuring the strict adherence of MRT Corp’s and the Government’s requirements as far as the specifications of the MRT project is concerned.

Last but not least, the two integrity documents signed today are also extremely significant. For the first time, we have private sector companies signing a pact which contractually bind them to strictly follow anti-corruption values when carrying out their work. This will bode well for our quest for greater transparency and integrity.

Before I end, in addition to me congratulating all the parties here today again, I would like to also commend them for their commitment to the MRT Project. I am sure we will all do Malaysia proud by delivering this “people first” project on time and on targeted cost.

Thank you.