ECRL - 2019 RM44B, 2021 RM50B, 2022 RM75B?? TRICIA YEOH OF IDEAS, PLEASE COMMENT

 Here is more of the same everyday. Its yet another shocker. 

The ECRL will now cost RM75 billion.

• KL (Dec 21): ECRL will proceed at RM74.96b 
• higher than the RM50.27b quoted by Wee Ka Siong in 2021
• 665-km ECRL to start ops Jan 27
• Early 2022 Wee said progress 30% in May

Even under the corrupted Najib regime in 2016-2017, the ECRL kicked off at RM65.5 billion. 

Then in 2019 under Dr Mahathir  2.0 it was renegotiated to RM44 billion by Tun Daim Zainuddin:

 

 

 

In April 2021 (last year) the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) wrote a detailed report about the ECRL. Here is a snapshot:

 

 

 

 

• report covers development of ECRL project to April 2021
• total cost of project changed several times
• Najib announced in 2016 estimated cost RM55b
• In 2017 cost increased to RM65.5b 
  
• 2018 PH renegotiated, decreased cost to RM44b (by 2019)
  
• in 2020, PN revised cost to RM50b

This evening I received a WhatsApp message about the ECRL from a friend who is in the transport industry. Here is what he sent me:

 

 

Politicians rot in hell or not, work on the ECRL has not only started but as of May 2022 it had already achieved 30% completion.

"Early 2022 Wee Ka Siong said progress 30% in May"

The ECRL project had already been signed at RM50 Billion in 2020 by the PN government.  

The RM75b mentioned today is a whopping 50% more than the RM50 Billion signed in 2020.  

How did the project balloon by RM25 billion in under TWO years? But the bigger question is why do you renegotiate a contract that has already been signed and work is already 30% complete? 

What is going on? Why have they "renegotiated" or "resigned" an already ongoing project (with 30% completed already)  at a much, much higher price of RM75 BILLION?

WHY?  What is going on? 

Can Tricia Yeoh (above) who is the CEO of IDEAS - venture an opinion? IDEAS wrote that ECRL report I have quoted above. 

 

The lion also wants to say something again:

  

 

p.s.  The latest news says a letter of intent has been issued to a local consortium to build a dedicated IPP for the ECRL project:

 

• Citaglobal consortium, Reneuco received letter of intent for IPP for ECRL 
• 50:50 JV with Reneuco accepted letter of intent on Wed
• Citaglobal exec chairman, president, major shareholder Mohd Norza Zakaria
• "We ..won this national contract via a competitive bidding exercise"

My comments :

Competitive bidding exercise for a letter of intent?  Very interesting.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.