PM: ECRL to benefit 277,000 households in Pahang
KUALA LUMPUR: The East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) is a people-centric project that will generate spillover effects for the agropolitan sector and entrepreneurial development, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
He said the transportation network, spanning 688km, would benefit more than 64,000 people and 277,000 households in Pahang.
He said the project, a gamechanger with a gross development value of more than RM60 billion, would create history and transform the development landscape, as well as ensure wealth distribution in an organised and thorough manner.
“ECRL has several stations in Pahang — Bentong, Temerloh, Maran, Gambang, Kota SAS (Sultan Ahmad Shah), Kuantan Port 1 and 2 and Cherating, with the exception of Pekan.
“The network will breathe new life into Pahang’s development and will see the construction of Southeast Asia’s longest tunnel, spanning 20km, through the Genting and Bentong stations.
“With utmost confidence, I envision the quality of ECRL to match that of the modern trains in Switzerland,” he said at the Himpunan Mesra Anak-Anak Pahang di Lembah Klang event at the Felda headquarters here yesterday.
The event was attended by more than 1,500 Pahang folk living in the Klang Valley. Present was Gabungan Kelab Anak Daerah Pahang chairman Datuk Dr Abd Halim Mohd Hussin.
Najib said besides ECRL, a water treatment project would also be built soon.
“The Halal Park project, Pahang Technology Park and Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park will also be built. This will create jobs and lead to spillover economic benefits in the outskirts.”
On economic development, he said Malaysia was on track towards becoming a developed and high-income nation by 2022.
He said this was in line with the World Bank’s revision of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of this year from 5.2 per cent to 5.4 per cent.
“In two years , the World Bank has revised Malaysia’s GDP growth four times, which shows that our economy is becoming more vibrant and dynamic.”