Malaysia’s government on Tuesday said it will seek to reroute a $10.6 billion rail project being built across the peninsula under China’s “Belt and Road” trade initiative, and as a result will reassess the cost and schedule with the Chinese contractor.
The government revived the 640 km (398 mile) East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) last year with a budget cut by a third to 44 billion ringgit ($10.57 billion) after halting the project in 2018.
It contracted the Malaysian unit of China Communications Construction Co Ltd, CCC-ECRL, to build the line.
Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah in parliament on Tuesday said the government plans to revert to the original route detailed in 2017 but with minor changes around the south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
