The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a 620km high-impact project under the 11^th Malaysia Plan, will be funded by China, Treasury Secretary General of Malaysia Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah said on October 30.

Map of the rail link (Photo: malaysiakini.com)

Engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPC) contract and a financial framework will be signed during a visit to China of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak from October 30 – November 6, he added.

The EPC contract will be awarded to the China Communication Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) while the financial agreement will be with Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM).

Once completed, the project will make East Coast products more competitive due to cheaper transport costs and raise the income of industries and businesses located along the rail link route.

He said the China was picked as the project investor due to favourable terms it offered.

Construction on the project is expected to start in early 2017.
(Source: VNA)