Putrajaya should quickly complete its review of the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), urged the mega project’s Chinese contractor China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) in a report by Bernama.
“It is understandable for the new government to review such a big project, but they should not take too long to come to a decision,” CCCC’s Vice President Sun Ziyu told reporters from Malaysia who visited the firm’s Beijing headquarters on Saturday (22 Sept).
“Ever since the suspension of work, losses are incurred every day. As a contractor, this is upsetting and impacts us negatively.”
This is because CCCC has already commenced earth works, tunnel digging, constructing road foundations and procuring bridge construction equipment and materials. This is in addition to hiring numerous workers and partnering with more than 700 local consultants, suppliers and subcontractors.
He also insisted that the cost of 688km rail project is high due to the intricate and long alignment of its track as well as the requirements for tunnels and bridges.
Moreover, Sun said that while CCCC understands the review’s rationale, the deferment should not take too long as the Malaysian government and the contractor will be both negatively affected.
For instance, the Colombo Port City Project in Sri Lanka, where CCCC has invested about US$800 million, has resumed after it was deferred for a year due to a change in the administration.
In addition, he argued that the ECRL would be highly beneficial to Malaysia, and is part of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
“As we signed the contract with asset owner Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), so our discussion is with the asset owner. We will follow the contract and we believe that the issue could be resolved by negotiation.”
“However, we are suffering losses every day as long as the suspension is still in effect. Therefore, we cannot afford for it to be suspended and leave the issue unresolved for too long,” Sun noted.
Image sourced from ECRL
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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