ECRL a catalyst for east coast development, says Anwar
Describing the ECRL as a megaproject, he said the Kelantan state government should work together to utilise existing transportation facilities while seeking new ways to generate new investments...
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his confidence in the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project as a catalyst and driver for development in states that are considered isolated from the growth in the Klang Valley.
Describing the ECRL as a megaproject, he said the Kelantan state government should work together to utilise existing transportation facilities while seeking new ways to generate new investments.
“I would also like to thank Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob for following the progress of the ECRL project.
“Kelantan has a good record of providing cooperation and expediting the land acquisition process,” he said during the launch of the construction of the first ECRL station in Tunjong, Kota Bharu, today.
Meanwhile, Anwar said detailed planning needs to be done in the next two to three years before the ECRL project’s completion to ensure greater changes on the east coast, particularly Kelantan.
“So that is why more aggressive immediate action is needed to attract investors by guaranteeing new incentives and faster approval processes.
“Among the issues raised by the ECRL at the outset and the investors we negotiated with was that they wanted to invest and there were incentives in place, but the slow approvals were a problem.
“I believe that if the state and federal governments have a closer relationship, it will facilitate projects that benefit the states, including Kelantan," he said.
In the same development, the prime minister also denied allegations that the ECRL project was fully monopolised by companies from China.
Anwar said more than 2,100 local companies consisting of contractors, consultants and suppliers have been involved in the project since 2017 until now.
“There is an assumption that this project is fully monopolised by China, which is not entirely true,” he said.
