This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 31, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has yet to decide on whether to proceed with or cancel the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, according to the ministry of finance (MoF).

“If the government intends to pursue this project, a thorough study should be carried out in terms of scope, specifications and implementation methods, so that the overall cost of the project can be reduced.

“[However,] if the government intends to terminate the project, it will likely refer to legal procedures to determine the amount of compensation that has to be paid,” the MoF said in a written reply dated July 25 to Kota Baru member of parliament Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan that was released to the media yesterday.

The ministry said a delegation, headed by the Council of Eminent Persons chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin and representatives of ECRL project owner Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), the MoF and the Attorney-General Chambers, went to China to renegotiate the implementation of the project on July 17 and 18.

Prior to that, MRL instructed its main contractor China Communications Construction Company Ltd on July 3 to suspend all works under the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract of the project.

The ministry’s answer was in response to Takiyuddin’s question about the outcome of the government’s negotiation with China on the ECRL project.