Kelantan appeals for reinstatement of 3 cancelled ECRL stations

By Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah – June 17, 2019 @ 3:33pm

KOTA BARU: The state government wants the Federal Government to reinstate its plan to build three high speed railway stations along the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) alignment.

State Public Works, Infrastructure, Utility and Information Technology committee chairman Datuk Hanifa Ahmad said an earlier request was turned down during a meeting with East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC).

The three stations are Pengkalan Kubur, Jelawat and Wakaf Baru.

He said the number of stations located in the state had been reduced from five to two.

“I was informed that by reducing the number of stations, the government could save as much as RM21.5 billion from the original cost of RM65.5 billion.

“I was also informed that the government’s move was to enable the ECRL’s railway track to run in parallel with the construction of East Coast Expressway Phase 3 (LPT3),” he said when replying to a question by Datuk Mohd Adhan Kechik (BN-Bukit Bunga) at the State Assembly Sitting today.

Hanifa said the state government had also requested for the station in Tok Bali, Pasir Putih, to used for both cargo and passenger trains to boost economic growth in the area.

He said, recently, the Federal Government had decided to designate the station for passenger train service only.

“If the station is allowed (to cater) for both cargo and passenger trains, the state government believes it could turn Tok Bali (into something) like the Kemaman and Songhkla (Thailand) supply bases and create job opportunities for the people,” he said.

Replying to a supplementary question by Zuraidin Abdullah (Pas-Chetok), Hanifa said 1,300 contractors had registered with Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) and 30 per cent of them would be involved in the ECRL project in Kelantan.

“We expect the creation of between 500 and 600 jobs in various sectors in Kelantan, especially from Kota Baru to Tok Bali,” he said.

On April 12, the Prime Minister’s Office had announced that the ECRL project would resume at a lower cost following the signing of a supplementary agreement (SA) between MRL and China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC).

It said the construction cost for Phases 1 and 2 of the ECRL had been reduced to RM44 billion, a reduction of RM21.5 billion from the original cost of RM65.5 billion.

ECRL will link Kota Baru in Kelantan through Mentakab-Jelebu-Kuala Klawang-Bangi/Kajang-Putrajaya to Port Klang.