KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project will have a price tag beyond the RM55 billion announced by the Barisan Nasional government previously, said the Council of Eminent Persons.

Speaking at a press briefing today, council chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin said the figure shared by the previous administration was only “for the first phase of the project”.

“The second phase [would cost] RM11 billion. If the interest rate [for the funding involved] is included, it will be much, much more,” he said, adding that he will “let the government announce” the details in due time.

When asked about the future of ECRL, Daim retorted: “If the rakyat wants us to proceed, then we will proceed. When I visited Kelantan, some of [the people] said they would rather have the money.”

ECRL was initiated when BN was heading the federal government under the leadership of ousted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

It is one of many government-linked projects to be dissected by the Council of Eminent Persons, which was givem 100 days by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to review the nation’s existing business dealings and advise Putrajaya on the way forward.