Putrajaya hopeful ECRL deal to conclude in time for Dr M's China visit

The government is hopeful it can conclude renegotiations on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in time for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's trip to China in April.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said this is as the government is in the midst of discussions with the contractor and a settlement could be reached by the next round of discussions.

"The prime minister had mentioned that because of the inflated or high price, we can't afford the project, but the Chinese government has offered reductions and we hope this will enable us to come to a settlement," he said during a press conference after launching the Bank Pembangunan's RM3 billion Industry Digitalisation Transformation Fund at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur today.

"We are still discussing [...] We believe it can be carried out quickly, hopefully in time for the prime minister's visit to China.

"We have to come to a conclusion, as you all know it cannot go on and on. With (the cost) reductions, I think there is hope that this project can move forward. 

"We are hopeful for the positive outcome," he said.

Mahathir is slated to visit China at the end of April.

Last month, Mahathir said the government was negotiating for a better deal and that the project could only go on if both countries could agree on costs.

The RM81 billion ECRL project was approved by the cabinet in October 2016. The construction was to be handled by China Communication Construction Company Ltd (CCCC), while the financing was to be provided by Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank of China).

The government had paid RM200 million in interest to the main contractor of the ECRL Communications Construction Company (CCCC). The interest payment is based on the RM55 billion loan.

On Sunday, Mahathir said discussions with the contractor revealed that the project could be carried out at a cost of RM35 billion, far lower than the RM55 billion agreed earlier.

“It could be done at a cost of RM35 billion, but why did the contract amount to RM55 billion? Maybe it is for someone to steal the money,” he said. - Mkini