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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): Transport Minister Anthony Loke told the Dewan Negara on Monday that the delayed Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) line is set to be operational by June this year.
He added that trials are being conducted to ensure the line will run smoothly once it starts operation.
To date, 14 out of 22 train sets have completed the trials, while the remaining eight are still undergoing testing amid unresolved technical issues.
The project was launched in 2016 under the Barisan Nasional administration with an initial budget of RM9 billion.
When Pakatan Harapan took office in 2018, the government disclosed that the budget excluded several major costs, including a 6% project delivery partner fee, consultancy fees, operational expenses, overheads, and interest during construction, raising total costs to RM31.7 billion.
To reduce costs, the government later revised the project scope by shelving five stations and cancelling one, bringing the overall cost down to RM16.63 billion.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has since reinstated five previously shelved stations—Tropicana, Raja Muda, Temasya, Bukit Raja, and Bandar Botanik—adding RM5.3 billion to the project cost. The revision brought the total cost to RM21.93 billion for the line projected to serve about 67,000 commuters daily.
Answering questions in the Dewan Negara, Loke denied claims that the 2018 revisions were the cause of the delays. He said the issues were purely technical, particularly fault-free run problems identified during testing and commissioning, which involve signalling systems.
He added that the government will be compensated for the delay, but the amount will be known only after work is fully completed.
The LRT3 line, also known as the Shah Alam line, stretches from Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya to Johan Setia in Klang.
It was initially to begin operations in July 2025 but was later pushed to December 2025 and now June 2026.
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