SEREMBAN, July 6 — The Negri Sembilan government hopes that the new alignment for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project will be maintained to ensure positive economic impact on the state as well as reduce costs to the government.

Mentri Besar Aminuddin Harun said that if the alignment was to be changed, it would likely delay the implementation of the project as it needed to go through re-negotiations.

“We at the state level are very pleased to have the project to go on as planned as the alignment will pass through Negri Sembilan. We are aware that the previous government’s study was to lower ECRL costs even though the alignment is longer, but the cost is significantly lower.

“This will not only benefit the people but also the states involved. The more places the alignment to pass through, the bigger the impact on the economy”, he said here today.

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He said this in a press conference after presenting 100 Sinar Kasih boxes organised by the Malaysian Youth Council (MBM) to the underprivileged, asnaf, persons with disabilities (B40) and B40 families, which was also attended by MBM president Jufitri Johar.

Media previously reported that there was a proposal to revert the ECRL back to the original alignment proposed during the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.

Meanwhile, the new alignment was decided by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, covering 20 stations, two of which are located in Negri Sembilan, namely, Kuala Klawang in Jelebu and Nilai Industrial Area in Nilai.

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On March 27, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the launch of the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) announced that the government would continue implementing all projects allocated in the 2020 Budget including ECRL, Mass Rail Transit (MRT) Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya line (MRT SSP) or MRT 2, and the National Optical and Connectivity Plan.

The 640km ECRL project was resumed after an additional agreement between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) and China Communications Construction Company Ltd was signed on April 12, 2019 at a lower cost of RM44 billion compared with its original cost of RM65.5 billion (involving a reduction of RM21.5 billion).

Scheduled for completion in December 2026, the ECRL, which will link Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang in the east coast with Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Putrajaya, is expected to cut travel time between Kota Baru and Putrajaya to approximately four hours at a speed of 160km per hour for passenger trains. — Bernama