Haris (left) and Commercial and Land Management (Retail and MSPR Unit) manager Mohd Faizal Yusof addressing the media after introducing the retailers.

MASS Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) has announced the names of 15 companies that would run retail spaces at the 19 elevated stations along the MRT Sungai Buloh–Kajang (SBK) Line.

They were among 49 companies that submitted 223 applications in April this year.

The bidding opened with minimum or reserve prices which varied for each lot.

The companies then submitted the rental rate that they were willing to pay as part of their tender.

MRT Corp Commercial and Land Management director Datuk Haris Fadzilah Hassan said the bidding method executed was selected as the best process to ensure transparency in awarding the retail space.

“This process will ensure the MRT retail space is awarded to the best business, allowing MRT Corp to get the best returns for lettable space, which is an important revenue for the company,” he said during the event.

On the selection of the best retailer for the space, Haris said: “One of the factors is to ensure that the brands working with MRT Corp are strong brands that would be able to cater to the fast-paced mobility and urban lifestyle of the commuters in Klang Valley.”

He said MRT Corp also strived to ensure that the trade mix offered at each station would be complementary rather than competing against each other.

“Lastly, taking the advice from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, we wanted businesses that were going to fit the image of the MRT as the country’s most modern mode of transport,” he said.

He added that in furthering the Government’s bumiputra agenda, MRT Corp had targeted at least 30% of the retail space units to be awarded to bumiputra entrepreneurs.

“We exceeded this target with 18 units of retail space or 44% of the total would be run by bumiputra entrepreneurs.

“One of these bumiputra stores will be operated by a company that is owned and run by the disabled, with the assistance of Majlis Amanah Rakyat,” he said.

The next round of retail space bid will open soon for the underground MRT stations.

MRT Corp also plans to expand the retail experience at the MRT stations by utilising available spaces to include kiosks and push carts.

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