PRIMARY Industries Minister Teresa Kok hopes China will buy more palm oil now that Malaysian has agreed to go ahead with the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

Kok said she hopes the new development will see China commit to buying Malaysian commodities, especially palm oil and rubber.

“China has always been an important trade partner for Malaysia. It is also our third largest export market for palm oil. We wish our bilateral ties to be further strengthened with the inking of the deal,” she said in a statement.

She also hoped that the state-owned China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) will prioritise local resources in the construction of the project.

“A lot of materials made from Malaysian rubber can be used in the construction of the rail track as well as for seismic bearing, while Malaysian timber is suitable as rail sleepers.”

Putrajaya today announced that the ECRL will resume at a reduced cost following the signing of a supplementary agreement (SA) between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) and CCCC.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the construction cost for Phases 1 and 2 of the ECRL has now been reduced to RM44 billion, a reduction of RM21.5 billion from its original cost of RM65.5 billion.

Speaking to the media in Beijing after signing the negotiated deal to resume the project at the lower cost, special envoy Daim Zainuddin said the project will be 40km shorter and has an altered route to include stops in Negeri Sembilan as part of its costs reduction.

He also said Putrajaya’s renegotiation with China over ECRL project did not include any talks of selling more palm oil to the republic.

He said the talks only touched on the project and nothing else, including on China buying more palm oil from Malaysia. – April 12, 2019.