‘Not all infrastructure projects lavish’

The ECRL engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning deal was inked between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd, China Communication Construction Co Ltd and China Communications Construction Co (M) Sdn Bhd during Najib’s six-day official visit to the China in October this year.

Once fully operational, the train service will link the east coast to the Klang Valley in the west coast, Singapore in the south, and China in the north.

Despite being good news for those who make frequent trips to the east coast of the Peninsula, it is not without issues.

Najib has refuted a claim that the project is too costly, describing it as value for money and unique in terms of topography.

It won an attractive project package that include funding from the Exim Bank of China with favourable terms and is capable of boosting gross domestic product of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang by up to 1.5 per cent, he added.

Addressing skeptics over the cost, he pointed out that the government has proven that not all infrastructure projects were lavish as about RM2 billion had been saved from the initial targeted cost of RM23 billion for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.

The 51-km Sg Buloh-Kajang MRT project was approved by the government in December 2010 and is seen as the backbone of the public transport system in the Greater KL/Klang Valley region as areas in the northwest and southeast of Klang Valley are not served by any urban rail lines yet.

Phase one of the MRT, spanning 21 km, with 12 stations between Sg Buloh and Semantan, was launched by Najib on Dec 15.

The journey takes about 30 minutes.

Asserting that the project was completed on time and under budget, he said the success in completing the MRT within five years as targeted has not only proven the government’s commitment towards providing an efficient and comfortable public transport, but also signified a benchmark for all future plans.

MRT Strategic Communications and Stakeholder Relations director Datuk Najmuddin Abdullah said the MRT project would become a catalyst in changing the landscape of transportation in Malaysia. — Bernama