Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the Klang Valley mass rapid transit line 3 (MRT 3 or Circle Line) project which costs between 40 billion RM and 45 billion RM, will not proceed, according to The Star.

Malaysia scraps major projects VNA Thursday, 31 May, 2018 - 21:36:00 Print Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (Source: VNA)

The MRT3 or MRT Circle Line was planned as the third MRT line for the Greater Klang Valley area in Kuala Lumpur.

While the MRT1 connects Sungai Buloh and Kajang, the MRT2, which is now under construction, will run from Sungai Buloh to Serdang and Putrajaya.

On 28 May, the PM said a planned high-speed railway, which was signed at the end of 2016 under the reign of former PM Najib Razak to connect  Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, will be axed.

He explained that the move aims to reduce national debt which exceeds 1 trillion RM (252 billion USD), equivalent to 80.3% of the country’s GDP.

PM Mahathir said the Malaysian Government is negotiating with the Chinese side on articles of another railway project worth 14 billion USD which runs from the Thai border in the east with the strategic shipping routes of the Straits of Malacca in the west.

He estimates that Malaysia could cut almost a fifth of its 250 billion USD billion national debt.

According to New Straits Times, the PM announced that his administration is expected to reduce the national debt, from more than 1 trillion RM to 800 billion RM through various approaches, including dissolving some agencies altogether.

(Source: VNA)