Pernas-Taisei win core airport deal

Pernas-Taisei win core airport deal

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A consortium led by Malaysia's Pernas Precision Engineering and Construction (Perspec) Sdn. Bhd. and Japan's Taisei Corporation has clinched a core contract for Malaysia's new international airport, officials said yesterday.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport Bhd. (KLIAB) officials said the consortium, which also included Japan's Kajima Corporation, Shimizu Corporation and Hazama Corporation, clinched the deal on its tender price of 1.741 billion ringgit (US$6.964 million).

The group beat eight other international consortia, shortlisted from 29 bidders, to win the much-touted deal to construct the main terminal building, contact pier and baggage handling system.

The airport project at Sepang, 40 miles (64 km) south of here -- Malaysia's largest infrastructure project ever -- is partly financed by a $640-million soft loan from Japan.

"KLIAB is confident that the selected consortium possesses the experience, organization and capability to undertake this project and its tender price is well within the KLIAB estimate," chairman Clifford Herbert announced in a statement.

Herbert said the offer was the "lowest technically acceptable tender." A French consortium, which offered the lowest bid, failed to win the deal.

The consortium is expected to start work by December 15 and complete the package by Sept. 15, 1997, he said.

The contract is the largest of 55 packages up for grabs for the construction of the new international airport, which is expected to cost a total of nine billion ringgit ($3.6 billion).

Nine consortia, involving companies from Japan, South Korea, the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands were shortlisted on Oct. 3 and a final announcement was expected Nov. 7 but was delayed almost a month.