The shortlisted bidders are now being evaluated on their commercial offers.
All three Aerotrains that are currently in operation in KLIA are due for replacement as the assets are approaching their end-of-life stage. Two of the Aerotrains have been in service since the airport first opened in 1998 with a third train added in 2010. Moreover, in the last 20 years, APM technology has evolved significantly, superseding the one currently in use in KLIA and making the maintenance of an ageing asset unviable in terms of operational and cost efficiency. The replacement trains will also be able to cater to the airport's future growth. Since its opening, the airport has grown tremendously. In 1998,
The tender was floated in
Following these, it was recommended that the best possible solution for KLIA was to do a like-for-like replacement of all systems related to the APM. The raison-d'etre behind a like-for-like replacement is that it has the advantage of being the least disruptive, as well as the most practical and cost effective. However, it was also determined that the airport should be open to evaluate all other APM technology that is available in the market. This was in the spirit of promoting fair competition and to ensure that the chosen solution is the best fit in terms of performance requirements, the least disruptive in implementation, and based on the latest technology.
In general, there are two main types of APM technology currently available in the market today involving the train and rail track systems i.e., self-propelled and cable-propelled. For KLIA, there were several criteria that were critical to its business requirements and therefore given more emphasis. One of which was that this new APM system is a brownfield replacement project in a busy airport. The airport is currently using a self-propelled system. As such, replacing the trains with similar but newer technology is the least disruptive in terms of operational downtime and infrastructure readiness. Other major criteria include the system's reliability, availability, ease of maintenance, safety and flexibility in catering to future needs.
As part of the
1) Baseline submission i.e., a bid solely for the replacement of all three trains and their corresponding systems infrastructure.
2) Option 1 i.e., a bid that includes the baseline submission plus the outsourced maintenance cost until 2034.
3) Option 2 i.e., a bid that includes the baseline submission plus the outsourced maintenance cost and financing until 2034
These options were put on the table in order for
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