The China-financed East Cost Rail Link (ECRL) which will connect ports in Malaysia's east and west coasts, may soon affect Singapore's status as a major trade destination, reports Straits Times.

This was because the ERCL will serve as a land bridge between Kuantan Port and with Port Klang, allowing North Asia access to the Straits of Malacca without having to pass Singapore.

According to Straits Times, efforts are underway to expand Kuantan Port's capacity. Kuantan Port's owner IJM and China's Beibu Gulf Port Group are spending more than RM1.2 billion to reclaim 40ha of land while Putrajaya is spending RM1.08 billion for a 4km breakwater.

The report adds that the port expansion will feature a 1km-long berthing complex that will feed industries in nearby industrial zones earmarked for Chinese manufacturing concerns.

Although the entire ERCL project would take more than a decade to build, government planners told the daily that the emphasis was on the 250km section between Kuantan Port and Port Klang.

"Cost issues aside, this new network will create new alternative routes to boost trade for Asean, with Malaysia as the base; and why this has to be taken seriously is because the Chinese have a direct interest in the (Kuantan) port and the rail link," G Durairaj, managing director of maritime and logistics consultancy PortsWorld, is quoted as saying.

Another industry expert told the daily that the land bridge also presents a "significant resolution" for China's energy needs, as 80 percent of Chinese energy needs pass through the Straits of Malacca.

At a cost of RM55 billion, the ECRL project will link Tumpat, Kuantan and Port Klang. It is set to be Malaysia's most expensive infrastructural project.

The project would be financed by loans from China, with Chinese firms having been appointed as builders.