RM81b – final cost of ECRL project

> Need to significantly reduce price to make it financially viable, says Lim

KUALA LUMPUR: The final cost of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project is RM81 billion, and must be reduced significantly to make it financially viable.

“The project is not expected to cover its operating costs. The RM81 billion does not include operating deficit, which cannot be determined for now.

“Furthermore, the Selangor government objects strongly to the completion of the GombakPort Klang portion of the line,” Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng ( pix) said in a statement yesterday.

Selangor’s objection is based on the state’s application to establish the 16km Klang Gates Quartz Ridge, which is the longest of its kind in the world, as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

“Completing the Gombak-Port Klang link would guarantee the failure of Selangor’s application. Only after a significant price reduction on the project is achieved will the federal government enter into discussions with the Selangor government on the merits of the project, compared to the possible Unesco listing,” he added.

The ECRL project was first approved by the previous Cabinet on Oct 21, 2016 while the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning Agreement was signed with China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) on Nov 1 the same year.

The original project plan was to build a rail line from the Integrated Transport Terminal (ITT) in Gombak, Selangor, to Wakaf Baru in Kelantan at a cost of RM46 billion.

On May 13 last year, the previous administration signed an additional agreement with CCCC to carry out Phase 2 of the project, which was to extend the line from ITT to Port Klang for RM9 billion.

On May 3 last year, the Cabinet approved the northern extension of the project from Wakaf Baru to Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan, at a cost of RM1.28 billion.

Subsequently on Aug 23, the Cabinet further approved the upgrading of the ECRL to a double-tracking project, which would cost an additional RM10.5 billion.

Based on these figures, the basic cost of construction of the 688.3km rail line amounts to RM66.78 billion.

However, the total cost of ECRL will be RM80.92 billion after taking into account land acquisitions, interests, fees and other operational costs.