China’s CCCC seeking to invest in Malaysia

BEIJING: China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) is transforming from an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contractor to an investor, developer and operation service provider, said its vice-president, Sun Ziyu.

“We are actively seeking investment opportunities to help develop Malaysia. For example, we are exploring transit-oriented development along the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

“We plan to invest in targeted industries along the ECRL and lead investments from China and other countries as well,” he told a Malaysian media delegation, led by the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, at the group’s headquarters here on Saturday.

Sun said besides infrastructure, CCCC hopes to participate in fields such as property development and urban development.

He added that CCCC’s participation in mega projects in Malaysia gives particular attention to the livelihood of the locals and localisation of its projects, while dismissing claims that mega infrastructure projects involving foreign contractors are a major strain on the local people and businesses.

Giving an example, Sun said CCCC’s participation in the Mass Rapid Transit and the Light Rail Transit projects in Kuala Lumpur will help ease traffic congestion, while the Port Klang and Kuantan Port projects will lead to further development in the areas.

“For ECRL, 50% of our workforce are locals and could reach up to 70%. Except for some special technicians who were from China, all other staff were locals.”

“We have also launched the industrial training programme and plan to train and develop 3,600 railway experts.” – Bernama