Half of 2,250 staff involved in ECRL lose jobs

News report says only 30% of the workforce are foreigners and those who lost their jobs are locals.

Only 15% of the work on the 688km ECRL rail line has been completed. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Nearly half of the 2,250 staff involved in the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project have been laid off following its suspension.

Channel NewsAsia, quoting sources in the project’s main contractor, China Communications and Construction Company (CCCC), said the company had no idea when the suspension will be lifted.

The report said those who were retrenched were mainly locals. Only 30% of the workforce are foreigners, the company claimed.

The report said some of the Chinese expatriates — including engineers, administrative staff and chefs — and their families had gone back home on long leave.

Others, including several local employees, were still manning their posts when Channel NewsAsia visited the ECRL base camp in Bentong, Pahang.

It is one of the eight base camps along the 688km rail line, linking the South China Sea on the east to the Straits of Malacca.

CCCC received a stop-work order from the finance ministry on July 3.

The report said the preparatory work for the rail link was completed in March and blasting work had started in seven of the 43 tunnels, with the 16km Genting tunnel awaiting the arrival of two giant boring machines in November.

It is a waiting game for the remaining staff at CCCC and hundreds of sub-contractors, suppliers and consultant companies.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has estimated the project will cost RM81 billion, much higher than the original cost of RM55 billion. This is after adding the land acquisition cost, including loan interest during construction.

The ECRL was signed with CCCC in November 2016 and was to be operational in 2024. The project was 85% financed by China’s Exim Bank, with the remaining 15% via sukuk insurance.

The report said so far, only 15% of the project has been completed and 20% of the loan drawn down.

Sources told Channel NewsAsia that the ECRL project, which has 100 viaducts and 43 tunnels, may be scaled down significantly.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is expected to discuss new terms for the ECRL project during his planned visit to China next month. The government says the project can only proceed if the cost is brought down. -FMT