Scomi Group is fast emerging as an iconic Malaysian brand with its landmark monorail projects in Malaysia, India and Brazil, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said today.

He said there are only three companies in the world that are involved in the monorail sector, namely Hitachi, Bombardier and Scomi.

"Scomi is in a big league, competing with companies like Hitachi, which has been around for many years.

"We're proud of Scomi as it is a Malaysian company," Mustapa, who is in Mumbai, India, on a trade and investment mission, told reporters after visiting Scomi's monorail project there.

The minister said Scomi's growth is an important milestone in Malaysia's journey to further strengthen its reputation in engineering.

"This is the beginning of many more good things to come. What is important is a good track record and I am confident that Scomi will establish itself as a big global player in the sector," he said.

Smooth ride for Scomi

On his experience traveling on board the monorail there, Mustapa said it was a smooth ride.

Scomi Engineering Bhd is the leading provider of public transportation solutions through designing and manufacturing of coaches, rail wagons, monorail systems and special purpose vehicles.

In November 2008, Scomi and its consortium partner, Larsen & Toubro Ltd India, were awarded a contract to build India's 19.5km monorail system in Mumbai. The project is slated for completion this year.

In June 2011, Scomi secured its first monorail project in Brazil together with its consortium partner CR Almeida, Andrade Gutierrez S.A and MPE.

The 18km St Judas Line 17 monorail project in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is expected to be completed by end-2014.

Scomi won its second monorail project in Brazil for design works, manufacture, supply and implementation of the monorail system for a 20km monorail line for the Manaus City in Brazil.

Demand for mass rapid transport

The company is focusing on emerging markets such as India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Middle East where there are an increased demand for mass rapid transport systems.

In India, over 21 cities are considering and planning monorail as an option for its multimodal urban transport system.

So far, Scomi has been shortlisted for the 57km Chennai monorail project.

The company has also been shortlisted to bid for a 20km line in Thane together with its partner, IL&FS Transportation Network Ltd, for a RM2.46 billion contract.

In addition, Scomi is also actively pursuing opportunities in Kerala, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Ludhiana and Jaipur.

It was reported recently that Scomi is also vying for another two monorail projects in Brazil with a combined contract value of between RM7.7 billion and RM9.2 billion in the first half of next year.

- Bernama