Malaysian state approves stalled $12 billion rail project sponsored by China

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Selangor, which is run by the opposition, has agreed to a northern route for the East Coast Rail Project, which it had previously vetoed.

The chief minister of a Malaysian state held by the opposition has allowed a multibillion-dollar Chinese-backed train project — the country's largest – which has been blocked since 2016.

The People's Justice Party (PKR), which governs Selangor and is home to Malaysia's busiest port, has authorised the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project with the same specifications that the party had previously opposed.

 

The rail route, which is part of China's global infrastructure-building initiative, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), will run through northern Selangor rather than the southern section of the state, as PKR had hoped.
It will also cost $12 billion in the United States, rather than the $10.4 billion the party had negotiated for in 2019.

Selangor's chief minister, Amiruddin Shari, said, "I officially announce that the Selangor Government no longer objects to the implementation of the ECRL alignment that spans the northern section of Selangor."

 

He said he granted the train link via Selangor the green light after determining that the route would be sustainable and economically advantageous to the state's population.
However, according to one observer, the project was allowed because the present federal administration is governed by the United Malays National Organization, which suggested the proposal in the first place (UMNO).

Amiruddin was addressing at a conference in Kuala Lumpur that included Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong, Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd, the project's management company, and the state-owned China Communications Construction Company, which would construct the ECRL's rail line and bridge.

 

25 percent complete

 

The project would create a new rail link between Peninsular Malaysia's east and west coasts once completed.
It would take the place of the existing colonial-era narrow-gauge rail network, which does not connect directly to Kuala Lumpur.

The project also includes a land bridge that will connect Kuantan Port on the South China Sea with Port Klang, the busiest port on the Malacca Strait.
The ECRL is expected to be completed in 2026, two years later than expected.

As of Oct. 31, around 25% of the project, which travels through three other states, had been completed, according to Transport Minister Wee.

 

The opposition PKR and its Selangor unit had previously opposed the northern route, claiming it was more expensive and less useful to the state's population than the southern route.

Land use issues are handled by state governments under Malaysia's federalism, which implies the federal ECRL project has been stalled because of Selangor.

The 688-kilometer (427-mile) project was officially opened in August 2017 by then-UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The ECRL was supposed to encompass the states of Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, and Kelantan, and it currently does.

 

After UMNO's shocking defeat in the 2018 national election, the project was halted, then resurrected, albeit with changes.

In addition to negotiating a reduced price for the rail link, the federal Pakatan administration – led by the PKR - shortened the route to 648 kilometres (402 miles) and established a new southern route that runs from Pahang to Negeri Sembilan and then to southern Selangor.

Following the collapse of the Pakatan government in March 2020, the new administration led by Muhyiddin Yassin returned to the ECRL's original path, which had been declared under Najib and was opposed by the Pakatan-led Selangor state government.