Malaysia’s Prasarana stands to lose up to $33m on its three-year contract to operate and maintain Saudi Arabia’s Al-Mashaer al-Mugaddassah railway, commonly referred to as the pilgrim metro.

The calculation is based on current losses amounting to about $23m.

Prasarana has received revenues equivalent to $135m as of 30 June against a total expenditure of $158m, local media reports said citing Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

MEED understands that the three-year contract signed in 2015 was valued at $216.6m.

The pilgrim metro was previously operated by China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), which reported incurring losses of $607m between 2011 and 2013.

The three-year operation and maintenance agreement was part of the $1.77bn contract that CRCC signed with the Municipal & Rural Affairs Ministry for the construction of the metro.

The metro’s operation was transferred to the client in 2014 and awarded to Prasarana the following year.

The metro operates only six days a year during the hajj period. The metro line links the holy sites of Mecca, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.

It spans 18 kilometres and has a capacity to transport 72,000 passengers an hour. It carried 1.8 million passengers in last year’s hajj season.