By Sheeda Fathil
SHAH ALAM, March 31 — The Selangor government asserted that the state was not the cause of delays or losses for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) mega project.
State executive councillor for infrastructure and public amenities Izham Hashim said the allegation by Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) chairman that Selangor was the cause of the project to be delayed for 12 months was not true.
“Let me emphasise here that the state government remains committed to choosing the southern alignment since July 17, 2019, through the Selangor Economic Action Council (MTES) meeting.
“It’s just that we can’t accept the northern alignment because it involves the Gombak rainwater catchment area which will have a direct impact on the Sungai Selangor basin.
“In fact, the cost of changing the northern alignment involves an increase of RM5.4 billion, while maintaining the southern alignment does not involve additional costs,” he said at a press conference on the latest developments on the ECRL status at the Selangor State Secretariat building here yesterday.
Izham added that the state government has always given its cooperation on projects implemented by the Federal government for the benefit of the people and the state.
“We hope that the Federal government would not politicise this issue because we made the decision not based on emotions but it is based on arguments and well-founded studies presented through MTES to maintain the southern alignment.
“I hope the MRL chairman can get the right information, if he does not want to incur any losses, just continue with the decision to maintain the southern alignment,” he said.
On March 29, Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali claimed that the project had been delayed for 12 months due to the Selangor government’s delay in making a decision.
Based on the original alignment, the ECRL will pass through Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang before entering Selangor from the north via Gombak and head to Serendah and Port Klang.
During Pakatan Harapan (PAKATAN) administration, the alignment was changed to not pass through Bentong and Gombak according to its initial plan, in order to avoid constructing a 17.8 kilometres tunnel through the Quartz Ridge.
Instead, the route heads south through Mentakab to Kuala Klawang in Negeri Sembilan before entering Selangor via Hulu Langat, then to Putrajaya Sentral and finally to Port Klang (Westports).
The ECRL is expected to be completed in 2026 and the project has made good progress reaching 20.37 per cent in January compared to its original estimation of 19.39 per cent.
