This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 16, 2026 - March 22, 2026
MRT Corp has again extended the deadline for a decision on the systems package of the Penang Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.
According to sources, MRT Corp has sent a notice to tenderers of the systems package, estimated to be valued at about RM3 billion, to say that the tender bonds, which expire on March 31, will continue to be valid until end-June.
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Following this decision, tenderers must ensure that the tender bonds they submitted with their proposals last year are enforceable until end-June. The tender for the systems package closed last June.
According to insiders, intense lobbying for the job has led to a delay in the final decision.
“The deadline for a final decision on the winner of the systems project has moved several times. Last year, tenderers were made to understand that a decision was expected in the third week of January. But until now, there is no decision yet,” a source tells The Edge.
Sources say the MRT Corp board made its recommendations to the Ministry of Finance in early January.
“However, there has been no decision yet due to intense lobbying. The Penang LRT is about the only railway job that has come up for grabs in the last few years, and every company that is without a job is looking at it,” says a source.
Word has it that one group is lobbying the Ministry of Transport, headed by Anthony Loke, while another group has been courting the Ministry of Finance, headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Although MRT Corp has already made its recommendations, the final dash in the award of the project may see political influence.
“If not for the strong political lobby, a decision would have been made by now,” says a source.
The Penang LRT is the biggest infrastructure project undertaken by the Anwar administration. It stretches from Silicon Island near Bayan Lepas Industrial Z
