LOCAL integrated rolling stock and rail services company Hartasuma Sdn Bhd is set to complete the supply of new 108 light rail transit (LRT) cars for the Kelana Jaya line.
This is being done in consortium with Alstom S.A, a global rolling stock manufacturer. The Alstom-Hartasuma Consortium was awarded this contract in 2017 under the Kuala Lumpur Additional Vehicle (KLAV) 27 project which is valued at RM1.72 bil.
More significantly, Hartasuma is in the midst of assembling the bogies for these LRT cars in Malaysia.
Yesterday (July 21), Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong witnessed the final assembly – specifically the bogies’ assembly process – at Hartasuma’s production facility in Pulau Indah, Selangor.
This capability was previously performed by the company’s consortium partner Alstom S.A. in Mexico.
Hartasuma is also working with the National Railway Centre of Excellence (NRCOE), a unit under the Transport Ministry, to be a qualified Tier 1 vendor for local bogie assembly and overhaul under the Railway Industry Development Programme (RIDP).
“Initiatives like this increase Malaysia’s technical capabilities and helps reduce foreign outflows. The local participation is expected to increase in our upcoming projects,” Hartasuma co-founder and executive director Tan Sri Ravindran Menon pointed out.
“These types of technology transfer have also allowed us to explore other opportunities such as the cable car systems. This technology is environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and economically sensible. It will mark our shift from contracting-based revenue to concessions.”
Meanwhile, Hartasuma is also progressively becoming a distinctive driving force in empowering human capital for the railway industry.
“Hartasuma is now evolving into a teaching factory that develops and nurtures local talents in various areas of expertise within the railway industry,” noted Ravindran.
“We have tied up with academic institutions like Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) by being part of an ecosystem that produces sought after skilled workforce.”
Alstom has partnered with Hartasuma for almost two decades in bidding and executing rail projects in Malaysia. In 2009, the Alstom-Hartasuma consortium successfully delivered 35 of the 818 series as well as performed the mid-life refurbishment of 68 cars on the Kelana Jaya LRT line.
A PKK (Pusat Khidmat Kontraktor) Class A Bumiputera company, Hartasuma’s core competencies lie in innovative engineering, refurbishment, overhaul, operations and maintenance, assembly, and supply of rolling stock.
It was the first to supply Malaysia’s first locally assembled passenger coaches and LRTs to Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd. To date, Hartasuma has delivered more than 400 cars to cater for the transportation needs of Malaysia’s rail and aviation sectors. – July 21, 2022
