GEORGE TOWN, Aug. 21 -- The budget of RM16.8 billion set for the LRT Mutiara Line in Penang was due to market conditions, including land acquisition costs, since 2016.

According to MRT Corp, the original estimated cost for the Penang LRT Bayan Lepas project was set at RM10 billion eight years ago, as the original alignment was only from Silicon Island to Komtar.

"In early 2024, the federal government made the decision to take over the project, now known as LRT Mutiara Line, with an extended alignment from Macallum to Penang Sentral," it said in a statement here.

The statement came to clarify an announcement by Transport Minister Anthony Loke recently that the budget ceiling for the project is now between RM16 billion to RM17 billion. ...