MP SPEAKS Malaysians including myself have heavily criticised the RM55 billion contract with China’s state owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) to build the 600km East Cost Rail Link (ECRL). A cursory analysis has shown the project to be the most expensive in the world at RM91.7 million per kilometre.

The Edge, for example, cited the examples of the 215km Padma rail line in Bangladesh and 120km Mombasa rail link in Kenya which were being constructed by China Rail Construction Corp for RM68.1 million and RM61.4 million per kilometre respectively.

For another project in Ethoipia awarded to Turkish contractor, Yapi Merkezi, the 375km Awash-Weldia railway line of which more than 40 percent is built on challenging terrain, the cost was only US$1.7 billion or RM18.1 million per kilometre.

Similarly for local rail double-tracking projects, the 329km Ipoh-Padang Besar and 179km Gemas-Johor Baru links were awarded for RM44 million and RM39.8 million per kilometre respectively.

However, The Star reported that Liow Tiong Lai had me “for making assumptions of the cost of the ECRL when it was still not finalised yet”...