China's largest construction company China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), which is tasked to build the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), was not blacklisted by World Bank, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan yesterday.

The minister was reported by New Straits Times that it was China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which merged with China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC) to become CCCC’s subsidiary, that was blacklisted.

However, a check in the World Bank official website said otherwise. The eight-year sanction against CCCC and its subsidiaries - from January 2009 until January 2017 - is still on.

"The World Bank announced the debarment of CCCC and all its subsidiaries, for fraudulent practices under Phase 1 of the Philippines National Roads Improvement and Management Project," it said in a press release dated July 29, 2011.

"Under the sanction, CCCC is ineligible to engage in any road and bridge projects financed by the World Bank Group until January 12, 2017," added the World Bank.

The Umno minister told Dewan Negara yesterday that the ban on CRBC was made following an investigation done on project bidding in Philippines.

“In 2003, the World Bank conducted an investigation towards a development in the Philippines and found that there was unfair competition among project bidders, including CRBC, which was then blacklisted.

“Two years later, in 2005, CRBC merged with CHEC and became a subsidiary under CCCC. CRBC was blacklisted on Jan 12, 2009 and the blacklist period of eight years will end in January 2017,” he told Dewan Negara.

Abdul Rahman said claims that CCCC was blacklisted were aimed to confuse the people.

But the World Bank, in its 2011 press statement, said its sanctions system includes “successor organizations” whether through purchase or reorganisation, and they “will be subject to the same sanctions applied to the original firm”.

According to Abdul Rahman, CCCC has a good track record in large construction projects, including those in Malaysia.

“The government is confident that it can provide the best results and complete the ECRL project in a period appropriate with the scale of the project,” he said.