History of the YTL Express Rail Link subsidy: Mahathir's gift to the Pencil of God
The following excerpts from stories published in Malaysia's main stream media, beginning with the 18 April 2008 story in Vincent Tan's THE SUN , show how ERL came to be recipient of airport taxes, or air passenger services charges:
A) You pay – even if you don't use ERL
Terence Fernandez and R. Nadeswaran
PETALING JAYA (April 21, 2008): Passengers who fly off from Sepang have been paying an additional RM2 to RM6 in airport tax for the last six years – no thanks to a lopsided deal between the government and Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB) which operates the Express Rail Link (ERL).
According to sources, under the terms of agreement for the RM2.8 billion ERL project, a portion of the airport taxes that departing passengers pay goes to the company – RM2 for domestic passengers and RM6 for international travellers from KLIA as well as the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).
It is learnt that the rationale behind the concession agreement signed in 1997 is to ensure a return on investment for the service which started in 2002.
KLIA handled about 25 million passengers last year and the LCCT about eight million. "Half of these figures were departing passengers, which means ERL would be receiving in the region of RM80 million a year (from airport tax)," said a source.
( http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=21581)
B)Second rise in PSC may be approved before 2004.
By Eirmalasare Bani.
10 May 2002
Business Times
MAHB yesterday said it will revise upward the domestic PSC by RM1 or 20 per cent to RM6 and international PSC by RM5 or 12.5 per cent to RM45 for each passenger.
Another analyst described the increase as "disappointing" considering that MAHB is also required to disburse the additional RM1 and RM5 per pax, respectively, for domestic and international flights collected at KLIA to Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB).
"This is a weird deal. What if the passengers who departed from KLIA did not use the express rail link (ERL) service to get to the airport?" the analyst asked.
Meanwhile, ERLSB assistant vice-president for corporate communications Lily Rozita Abdul Rahman confirmed that the company submitted "several fare options" to the Transport Ministry early this year.
She said the company was notified by MAHB on the RM6 disbursement for KLIA passengers but has yet to receive any confirmation from the Government on the matter.
While the additional revenue will be positive for the company, ERLSB will continue with efforts to promote and advertise its services.
She said after 25 days of operations, the ERL ridership has merely touched about 2,000 daily. "It is below our target of 6,000 daily but the Subang Airport is still operating until July. Hopefully we will have a better impact after the closure," she added.
ERLSB is 60 per cent owned by TH Technologies Sdn Bhd - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Haji - and YTL Corp Bhd.
C) Express Rail in talks with Govt on concession terms. [CORRECTED]
By Eirmalasare Bani.
516 words
14 February 2002
Business Times
EXPRESS Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB) is still negotiating with the Government on some of the terms in its concession agreement including train fares.
"We are not negotiating with MAHB but with the Government ... the terms in our concession agreement is different than that of MAHB's," he said.
Sources said the proposal, if accepted, will also allow the rail operator to bill airport tax into its train tickets. ERLSB executive chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said this was a fair return for a rail operator, considering that a power project normally makes between 18 per cent and 20 per cent return on shareholders' investments.
She said a full disclosure will be made upon receipt of the official reply from the Government.
The group is said to be asking for a 50 per cent increase or RM20 rise in international passenger tax, and a 50 per cent or RM5 increase in domestic airport tax.
MAHB currently charges RM40 per international flight per passenger and RM10 per domestic flight per passenger.
The new charges will be imposed with the closure of Subang International Airport on April 19, which coincides with the commencement of ERL's operations, sources said.
A) You pay – even if you don't use ERL
Terence Fernandez and R. Nadeswaran
PETALING JAYA (April 21, 2008): Passengers who fly off from Sepang have been paying an additional RM2 to RM6 in airport tax for the last six years – no thanks to a lopsided deal between the government and Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB) which operates the Express Rail Link (ERL).
According to sources, under the terms of agreement for the RM2.8 billion ERL project, a portion of the airport taxes that departing passengers pay goes to the company – RM2 for domestic passengers and RM6 for international travellers from KLIA as well as the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).
It is learnt that the rationale behind the concession agreement signed in 1997 is to ensure a return on investment for the service which started in 2002.
KLIA handled about 25 million passengers last year and the LCCT about eight million. "Half of these figures were departing passengers, which means ERL would be receiving in the region of RM80 million a year (from airport tax)," said a source.
( http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=21581)
B)Second rise in PSC may be approved before 2004.
By Eirmalasare Bani.
10 May 2002
Business Times
MAHB yesterday said it will revise upward the domestic PSC by RM1 or 20 per cent to RM6 and international PSC by RM5 or 12.5 per cent to RM45 for each passenger.
Another analyst described the increase as "disappointing" considering that MAHB is also required to disburse the additional RM1 and RM5 per pax, respectively, for domestic and international flights collected at KLIA to Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB).
"This is a weird deal. What if the passengers who departed from KLIA did not use the express rail link (ERL) service to get to the airport?" the analyst asked.
Meanwhile, ERLSB assistant vice-president for corporate communications Lily Rozita Abdul Rahman confirmed that the company submitted "several fare options" to the Transport Ministry early this year.
She said the company was notified by MAHB on the RM6 disbursement for KLIA passengers but has yet to receive any confirmation from the Government on the matter.
While the additional revenue will be positive for the company, ERLSB will continue with efforts to promote and advertise its services.
She said after 25 days of operations, the ERL ridership has merely touched about 2,000 daily. "It is below our target of 6,000 daily but the Subang Airport is still operating until July. Hopefully we will have a better impact after the closure," she added.
ERLSB is 60 per cent owned by TH Technologies Sdn Bhd - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Haji - and YTL Corp Bhd.
C) Express Rail in talks with Govt on concession terms. [CORRECTED]
By Eirmalasare Bani.
516 words
14 February 2002
Business Times
EXPRESS Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB) is still negotiating with the Government on some of the terms in its concession agreement including train fares.
"We are not negotiating with MAHB but with the Government ... the terms in our concession agreement is different than that of MAHB's," he said.
Sources said the proposal, if accepted, will also allow the rail operator to bill airport tax into its train tickets. ERLSB executive chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said this was a fair return for a rail operator, considering that a power project normally makes between 18 per cent and 20 per cent return on shareholders' investments.
She said a full disclosure will be made upon receipt of the official reply from the Government.
The group is said to be asking for a 50 per cent increase or RM20 rise in international passenger tax, and a 50 per cent or RM5 increase in domestic airport tax.
MAHB currently charges RM40 per international flight per passenger and RM10 per domestic flight per passenger.
The new charges will be imposed with the closure of Subang International Airport on April 19, which coincides with the commencement of ERL's operations, sources said.
Comments
Post a Comment