ECRL project owner: Information in weekly's report 'incorrect and misleading'

KUALA LUMPUR (June 10): The owners of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project today said that a statement made in a story by an English language weekly yesterday is "completely incorrect and misleading".

The Edge's cover story entitled “Jho Low’s Handiwork from Putrajaya Perdana to SRC to 'red files'” hit the streets yesterday.

In the story, The Edge wrote: “The ECRL contract comes with a clause requiring CCCC (China Communications Construction Co Ltd) to nominate a company unrelated to it to buy 70% of PPB (Putrajaya Perdana Bhd) for US$244 million as well as 90% of Loh & Loh for US$71 million."

Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) in reaction to the story today said in a statement that the above "is a baseless and irresponsible allegation".

"There is no contract between China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) and MRL that stipulates this clause. Neither does this clause appear in the loan agreement between MRL and the Export-Import Bank of China.

"As the project owner of the 688-kilometre East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), the inaccurate information presented in the said article potentially ruins the reputation of MRL and its cordial relationship with CCCC, the main contractor of the project.

"As such, MRL urges the media to engage with its Corporate Communications Department to verify information with regards to the ECRL project," said MRL.

The Edge also said that both companies (PPB and Loh & Loh) are linked to Jho Low.

"Realisation of the long overdue ECRL infrastructure project was done based on a Government to Government (G2G) agreement. It mooted the setting up of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company to oversees its implementation," said MRL.

"MRL was incorporated on 26 September 2016 and following that only the EPCC contract with CCCC and the loan agreement with Export-Import Bank of China is within our purview with regards to the ECRL project."

Low is currenly being sought by Malaysian authorities for probes into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

Meanwhile, MRL also said that the "ECRL has made 14.33% in the overall progress of its construction which includes setting up of base and satellite camps in all eight sections of the project, land acquisition, site clearing and construction of road access".

"Multiple road access totalling some 95 kilometres in length and temporary bridges spanning 1,067 meters have been constructed at many of the ECRL project sites in the East Coast states," it said in the same press release.

"A key catalytic project, the ECRL is progressing slightly ahead schedule and is on track for completion and operation by mid-2024.

"As of now, the construction works for seven tunnels in various parts of the rail alignment in Pahang and Terengganu have commenced," said MRL.

"We trust the Federal Government will soon make an informed decision on the best course of action regarding the ECRL project."