PUTRAJAYA, May 30 — The federal government announced today that it is cancelling the proposed third line for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, the latest infrastructure project to get the axe.

"The MRT third line project will not be continued,” Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told a press conference after the Cabinet meeting here.

MRT3, also known as the Circle Line, was planned to provide a loop line for the integrated public transport system in the Klang Valley by 2025.

Putrajaya, however, said it is still reviewing the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project linking Kuala Lumpur and Kota Baru.

"We have not cancelled the ECRL. We are still studying this matter.

"A lot of money has been spent. This requires us to find a smart way to resolve this issue,” he said of the RM55 billion project.

The 600km-long rail link built by China Railway Construction Corp was to ferry both passengers and freight from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to its east coast, and vice versa.

As for the MRT3, the project was initially scheduled to be 40km long, 32km of which would be underground with 26 stations planned along the route.

The line, which was said to cost up to RM40 billion to develop, would have circumnavigated the city centre and included areas such as Ampang Jaya, KL City Centre, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Tun Razak Exchange, Mont’ Kiara and Sentul.