ECRL Not Being Done In Haste, Dewan Rakyat Told
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is being implemented neither hastily nor at the insistence of lobbyists from China, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz said the government had conducted a detailed study on the project, taking into consideration the views of all quarters including the state governments.
This was to ensure that the national infrastructure project linking the east coast to the Klang Valley had a huge impact on all quarters, he said when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad (Amanah-Kuala Terengganu).
"We are not acting in levity with regard to the project because we not building a hall but a large-scale project, a huge project with a long alignment.
"We admit that several villages and infrastructure such as recreational areas and football fields will have to make way along the alignment but this is for the long-term good," he said.
Replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali (BN-Bagan Serai), Othman said 13,600 employment opportunities would be available from the ECRL project.
He said the project, which would involve laying 688 kilometres of railway tracks, would be implemented in two phases with the first phase of tracks from Gombak, Selangor, to Tumpat, Kelantan, and the second phase from Gombak to Port Klang.
The project would be fully completed at the end of 2024.
-- BERNAMA
