PUTRAJAYA: The request for proposal (RFP) for Putrajaya's Monorel project will take a maximum of three months to be opened.
Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said this was to enable the project to continue with the help of private companies.
He said the RFP would allow private companies to submit cost proposals as there were several ways to carry out the project, depending on the type of technology used.
"The cabinet has requested the Federal Territories Ministry to hold discussions with the Transport Ministry.
"A meeting was held two weeks ago and an agreement was reached for the Federal Territories Ministry to take follow-up action.
"This is to receive suggestions from the private sector. Then we will study the feasibility of this project being continued through cooperation with the private sector," he said.
Annuar said that the government decided to open the RFP because some companies had shown interest in collaborating on the project to the extent of presenting their proposals to them.
Annuar also said construction of the monorail had already been carried out halfway, adding that the basic infrastructure such as tunnels and overhead bridges had been built using a lot of funds.
"Putrajaya needs a good and modern public transport system, in line with its status as the country's administrative centre," he said.
He added that so far the routes and tracks were fixed with nine stations confirmed. Annuar however said that this could increase or decrease, depending on the proposal selected.
He also said that the proposed stations connecting the administrative capital to Cyberjaya, Bangi, Putrajaya and Kajang were under the jurisdiction of the Transport Ministry.
Last April, the Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) confirmed that the government would continue with the monorail project, which was previously delayed in mid-2004.
PPj former president Aminuddin Hassim said the construction would resume as soon as possible.
According to the original plan, the monorail will have two routes – one with 17 stations and 12km long, and the other with six stations and 6km long.