THE East Coast Railway Line (ECRL) project is back on track after a period of uncertainty and Terengganu expects local contractors to benefit the most from the mega-project, said state exco Mohamad Nor Hamzah.

Nor, who is in charge of human capital development and information, said Terengganu folk should also gain secondary business opportunities in the food and beverage sector and support services.

“We have held a number of meetings to work out how local contractors could participate, like by breaking down the larger contract packages into smaller work packages so they can be sub-contracted to the small local contractors,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“(And) we want trickle-down opportunities, such as supplying services or materials to be given first to the locals.”

The ECRL, the Bukit Payung representative said, could also spur the state’s economy via the potential development of new townships along the rail alignment running through the east coast state.

Nor, who is also the state PAS information chief, said developers will find it an attractive prospect to build on land that has been cleared for them by the rail line.

A number of large infrastructure projects, including the ECRL, were suspended for evaluation by Pakatan Harapan following the defeat of Barisan Nasional in last year’s general election.

After a brief period of uncertainty, the prime minister’s special adviser Daim Zainuddin said on April 12 the ECRL project would proceed but at a reduced cost.

Daim led the renegotiations with China for new and better terms, primary among these are lowered construction cost by RM25.1 billion to RM44 billion.

Hardware store proprietor Muhammad Shamsuddin Mat Salleh from Kg Alur Wan Syed in Pengkalan Beringin, Marang, recalled the joy when the project was introduced by the former BN government.

The 59-year-old businessman was already counting the compensation he would receive for his store and his cement factory which sit on a 1.6ha piece of land the government had marked for acquisition to build the Pengkalan Berangan station.

He thought he’d be paid RM3 million but the dream was dashed when the revised ECRL agreement was announced along with a new rail alignment that moves the proposed station 800m away from his land.

Still, Shamsuddin said he profited as a supplier to the project contractors in the early stages of work.

“They were buying many things from me, from wooden boards to small things like nails,” said the retired school teacher.

Shamsuddin was not only supplying hardware materials but also asked to find local workers for various jobs.

“I was asked to find lorry drivers and heavy machinery operators, surveyors and even security guards.

“In fact, I helped find the storage site for the heavy vehicles when work was stopped,” he said.

Now the project is resuming and he has been told by the contractors that those who were laid off in the work stoppage would be re-employed if they are still interested in working.

“The contractor has contacted me and given me his pledge,” he said.

Mohd Shahrul Idris, 43, also of Pengkalan Berangan, said the ECRL would change the future of his village.

“From an economic point of view, it will improve the wellbeing of the people here and bring development to the surrounding areas,” he said.

“Existing infrastructure, such as the roads could be widened and our largely agriculture area could further grow.”

Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said six stations are to be built in the state – two in Chukai and Dungun for passengers and cargo, and one each in Kemasik, Pengkalan Berangan, Kuala Terengganu and Kg Raja for passengers only.

As a result of the ECRL renegotiation, the participation of local contractors could be as much as 40% compared with 30% in the initial agreement.

Realignment of the route will cut the length of the tracks by 40km to 648km.

The new ECRL route covers Kota Baru, Mentakab (Pahang), Jelebu (Negri Sembilan), Kuala Klawang (Negri Sembilan), Bangi/Kajang (Selangor), Putrajaya and Port Klang. Two major stops – Bentong and Gombak – have been scrapped. – April 26, 2019.