MALAYSIA and China are in “last mile” talks to revise the cost of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah has told Bloomberg.

The business wire reported that talks have been progressing, led by Council of Eminent Persons chairman Daim Zainuddin on the Malaysian side.

China is said to be willing to reduce the cost of the RM85 billion high-speed railway to connect Port Klang to Kota Baru in Kelantan that was signed under the previous Barisan Nasional administration.

“It is not cancelled until and unless we can’t settle on the numbers,” Saifuddin was quoted as saying.

“China understands our constraints and they’re willing to scale down the size of the project and the cost. The discussion is probably in the last mile.”

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad initially said Putrajaya would cancel the ECRL after Pakatan Harapan formed the federal government last year.

Subsequently, the government said the project was only shelved because of its high cost and was in talks with Beijing to negotiate a lower price.

There was also confusion last month when two ministers appeared to make contradictory statements about the project.

Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali said the cabinet had decided to cancel the ECRL, while Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng later said he was “shocked” by his colleague’s announcement, saying Azmin had not been privy to Dr Mahathir’s decision on the matter. – February 19, 2019.