Cost of ECRL not that high, says contractor
(Mkini) – The China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) has defended the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, which Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad deemed “overpriced.”
In a rare interview conducted at the company’s Beijing headquarters, CCCC vice-president Sun Ziyu explained why the 688-km rail project costs about RM66.78 billion.
“The cost depends on the quantity of work. The price will be different if the scope of work in the contract fluctuates.
“I can tell the Malaysian media, in a responsible manner, that the cost for ECRL is not high,” he said.
The ECRL, which was first approved by the previous BN administration in October 2016, was issued a suspension notice in July this year following heavy criticism about the cost of the project from the new government.
CCCC, the contractor for ECRL project, said its project was about 20 percent complete.
Previously, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the ECRL’s final cost is RM81 billion, far higher than the RM55 billion estimate issued by the Najib Abdul Razak administration.
On Aug 28, Mahathir said his government received offer as low as RM10 billion for the ECRL, and claimed the previous administration was paying RM55 billion for the project that is worth no more than RM30 billion.
*’Where are the figures from?’*
Sun questioned how these figures were arrived at, however.
“I am an engineer for a port project, railway is not my expertise. I myself do not dare to comment on rail projects.
“But if this isn’t my field, what more these leaders? The prime minister was a doctor previously, and Lim is not an engineer. I don’t know where they obtained this information,” he said.
When asked if ECRL could be completed for just RM10 billion, Sun said: “Different projects have distinct features and we shall evaluate the price based on scale, geological conditions, environmental standards (and other criteria).”
“The information is yet to be verified and confirmed. One cannot compare the cost of a 10km rail project with 100km rail project,” he said.
Sun also pointed out that complexities of building the 688km track for the ECRL.
“From a technical perspective, over 30 percent of the ECRL alignment are bridges, and it goes through many mountains, and also cuts across many rivers and highways.
“The geological analysis shows that ECRL goes through swamps in the east coast, so we need to mitigate the soft foundation to prevent sinking of the base. In the flooded area of the east coast, we need to build many discharge channels and culverts to prevent floods.
“The ECRL will also go through the Titiwangsa Ranges and the tunnel will be the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia. That is why the geological conditions are so complicated,” he said.
The price of the ECRL, Sun noted, had increased from RM46 billion to RM66.78 billion after two agreements were signed to increase the original single track to double track, and later to extend the rail track to the border of Thailand.
Malaysiakini was among the nine media organisations was invited by the Chinese government to visit Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Beijing, in conjuction with the 40th anniversary of reform and open policy adopted by the Chinese administration.
