MALAYSIA has linked the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project to China buying more palm oil and bringing in additional projects here, reports The Star today.

Quoting sources, the daily said the negotiations now include a commitment from China to purchase more local palm oil from Malaysia. The country will also direct more Chinese investments into Malaysia.

“This is under bilateral talks now. We are talking about a package, not just the ECRL project. Top officials from the Primary Industries Ministry have joined the negotiation team,” a source was quoted as saying in the report.

The railway project cost could be brought down to be between RM34.4 billion and RM41.3 billion, down from its original RM55 billion inked by the previous Barisan Nasional government in 2016, sources said.

China and Malaysia have also agreed to build the rail track on normal terrain at about RM50 million per km. The pricing can go up to RM60 million per km for tunnelling and areas with challenging soil condition, it added.

The reduced pricing hinges on single-tracking and not double-tracking as initially planned.

This is because the passenger and freight traffic flow is expected to be low due to sparse population and low investments in the states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

“The Chinese really want to see the ECRL coming into fruition, as this is a key project under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. Their attitude has been very accommodating in the negotiations, though initially they were tough,” said the Malaysian source.

Putrajaya is represented by former finance minister Daim Zainuddin in the negotiations with China. Daim previously said the ECRL deal would be finalised this month.

He also previously indicated that the deal would include new commercial elements “that would have a greater impact on Malaysian companies and people”.

Last week both Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the ECRL line could be rerouted to include Negri Sembilan. – April 8, 2019.