KL Electric Mobility Sdn Bhd (KLEM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based Masers Energy Inc, is investing RM1.5bil to set up 3,000 charging stations for zero-emission vehicles within Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle over the next two years.
The project, called “KL Electric A-gogo,” which was inked with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), will also involve the setting up of a zero-emission car sharing service.
KLEM chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Suhaimi Abdul Rahman said the stations would be rolled out from next month, with the first phase, comprising between 10 and 50 stations, set to be completed within the next six months.
“The early phase of the project will be funded via equity financing with various local partners. As the rollouts increase, we will bring in foreign direct investments,” he said after a signing ceremony between KLEM and DBKL yesterday.
The KL Electric A-gogo project borrows heavily from France-based Autolib, an electric car-sharing service which was inaugurated in Paris in December 2011.
Suhaimi said KLEM had tied up with Autolib to bring in the Bolloré Bluecar, an Italian-made small four-seat, three-door electric car that was currently being used by Autolib for its car-sharing service.
For the first phase, he said KLEM intended to bring in around 150 Bollore Bluecar units.
“We are also in talks with other manufacturers, such as Nissan and BMW to include their electric cars under our car-sharing service,” Suhaimi said.
He added that the project was aimed at meeting Malaysia’s commitment to becoming a zero-carbon nation by 2030.
On a separate matter, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib, who inked the deal on behalf of DBKL, said that city hall was currently evaluating the submission from Profit Consortium Sdn Bhd to revive the abandoned Plaza Rakyat project in Kuala Lumpur.
“We have already received the submission from them. It’s just a matter of analysing it now,” he said.
The RM1.4bil project was 30 per cent complete about 15 years ago when its then developer, Plaza Rakyat Sdn Bhd, ran into financial difficulties during the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis, forcing it to abandon the project.
In June, it was reported that three companies had shown interest in developing Plaza Rakyat, but the Government decided to go with Profit Consortium, which presented a better deal.
