PETALING JAYA (Apr 29): Malaysian government-owned Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) hopes to reduce land acquisition cost for the construction of the 52.2km Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya MRT line (Line 2) in the Klang Valley.

MRT Corp project director Amiruddin Maaris said MRT Corp hoped to reduce land purchase expenses for Line 2, through mutual agreements with landowners.

"We will try to engage with the landowners to seek mutual agreements. Land acquisitions are very expensive and we want to minimise the cost," he told reporters here during a briefing on the environmental impact assessment for Line 2.

Amiruddin said MRT Corp aimed to repeat its feat under the 51km MRT Line 1, which would link Sungai Buloh and Kajang (SBK Line). He said MRT Corp managed to save RM1.6 billion out of the  RM3 billion set aside for land acquisition.

On Line 2, he said it was still early to state the estimated land acqusition cost. Amiruddin said the cost hinged on the depth of underground tunnels at specific areas.
 
According to MRT Corp's website, the 52.2km Line 2 will include a 13.5km underground portion. The project will comprise 36 stations, of which 11 will be located underground.
 
Amiruddin said: "We have not determined the depth of the tunnels, because the alignment has not been finalised."

"However, certain areas will have different depth levels. For instance, the tunnel in Tun Razak Exchange where Line One runs, has a depth of 45 metres below ground; while in Cochrane, the depth of the tunnel is 35 metres," he said.