Liow’s justification of ECRL cost raises more questions than answers, says Pua

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): The DAP’s Tony Pua (pictured) said that Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s attempts to justify the increase in price from RM29 billion to RM55 billion for the proposed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) raises many more questions than answers.

In a statement today, Pua, who is DAP national publicity secretary and also MP for Petaling Jaya Utara said that after more than a week of denying that the ECRL would cost a whopping RM55 billion, Liow finally conceded that the project would indeed cost RM55 billion or RM91.7 million per kilometer.

Pua added that the Transport Minister’s admission in Parliament yesterday came after the Pakatan Harapan law-makers exposed the existence of an extensive feasibility study by HSS Engineers Bhd which had estimated that the cost of the 545km project to be only RM29 billion or RM53.2 million per kilometer.

The DAP lawmaker said Liow then tried to defend the staggering increase in cost by arguing that:

The project has been extended from 545km to 600km to include the Gombak-Port Klang link — a fact which we have never disputed.

The HSS feasibility study is based on RM3.2 to the US Dollar in 2009-2010.

There is a new alignment resulting in an increase in tunnel length from 30km to 50km, which also results in additional viaducts.

Pua said Liow appeared to be desperately making up responses to questions as they arise, as his answers raised far too many more questions on the RM55 billion project.

He said the HSS feasibility study which cost the Government RM8.7 million was carried out over a 6-year period, starting in December 2009 and completing only in December 2015 before concluding on the cost of RM29 billion.

“Is the Transport Minister telling us that HSS consultants, who have completed many mega-infrastructure projects in the country, are so stupid as to use the 2009-2010 exchange rates to calculate the cost of the project, even though they finalised the report only in December 2015 when the exchange rate was already RM4 to the Dollar by then?

“Since the comprehensive HSS report had to take 6 years to complete and was finalised only in December 2015, how did the Government decide to suddenly alter the alignment within 6 months or so?  Was a new engineering consultant actually appointed to carry out a new study which could be completed in such a time-frame?,” he asked.

Pua also questioned the need for  a 50km tunnel route across Titiwangsa range if indeed HSS recommended the much shorter 30km route.

He also stressed that if the government had nothing to hide, Liow should immediately order that both the HSS feasibility study and the subsequent study which changed the scope of the HSS study be released to the public.

“That way, if what Datuk Seri Liow said is right, then the Pakatan Harapan critics would have no choice but to shut up immediately. 

“Otherwise, the Transport Minister, who is also the MCA President has no right to accuse us of trying to “gain political mileage” when what we clearly want to ensure is not another project where tens of billions of ringgit are embezzled by the powers that be.  Instead it would be Datuk Seri Liow who is playing politics to cover up for another multi-billion ringgit mega-scandal,” he concluded. — theedgemarkets.com