MALAYSIA Rail Link Sdn Bhd, the owner of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, has been reporting to the Transport Ministry (MOT) since May, said sources.

This came a month after the ECRL project was given a reboot by the government in April.

“MRL has been reporting to MOT since it was gazetted in the federal government gazette on May 14,” a source told The Malaysian Insight.

“MRL was previously reporting to the Finance Ministry,” the source added.

According to the Federal Gazette, MRL is now parked under MOT.

However, Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) remains the final owner of MRL.

There are more than 150 companies under the jurisdiction of MoF Inc.

The ECRL project was suspended in July last year but had been restarted in April after its cost was shaved by RM22 billion to RM44 billion.

In April, Putrajaya announced the improved deal with China on the ECRL, which involved a supplementary agreement between MRL and the China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) following months of negotiations.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke will re-launch the project officially at an event in Dungun, Terengganu tomorrow.

The project’s new alignment will see its length being shortened by more than 48km to 640km and several stations from the original plan scrapped.

The ECRL will link Kota Baru in Kelantan to Port Klang in Selangor and will include 20 stations across five states, from four previously.

Of this, 14 will be passenger stations, five will be a combination of passenger and freight stations, and one freight station.

Completion has been pushed to December 31, 2026, as opposed to the initial date of June 30, 2024. – July 24, 2019.