The ongoing construction of Phase 1 of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project will see at least 44 tunnels built along the alignment involving Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) infrastructure construction head Noor Azlan Salleh said the tunnels would be built on multiple sites along the ECRL alignment with a total distance of 39.1km.

“These include the 16.3km twin bore tunnels from Bentong to Gombak, which will make it the longest rail tunnel in Malaysia. In Terengganu alone, it will involve the construction of three tunnels with a total distance of 3.3km,” he told reporters during a media visit to the ECRL base camp in Dungun today.

Noor Azlan said the construction of Phase 1 of ECRL from Kota Bharu, Kelantan to Gombak, Selangor, was divided into eight sections.

“In Terengganu, there are three sections involved, namely, Section 3 from Setiu to Marang, Section 4 from Marang to Kemaman, and Section 5 from Kemaman, Terengganu to Kuantan, Pahang.

“The earthwork, constructing the base and satellite camps, as well as creating road access to ECRL construction sites in Terengganu are near completion and the infrastructural work will start next month,” he said.

Noor Azlan said among the locations selected for ECRL’s stations in Terengganu were Kampung Raja, Telaga Papan, Kuala Terengganu, Pengkalan Berangan, Dungun, Kemasik and Chukai.

“Of the total eight stations to be built in Terengganu, four of them are designed for passengers, one for freight, while another three stations will combine passenger and freight, with three additional lines will also be built,” he said.

He said MRL had also taken into account the importance of protecting the flora and fauna and the safety of wildlife as the construction of ECRL would involve four permanent forest reserve areas in Terengganu.

“There are four permanent forest reserve areas involved in the ECRL project, namely, Bukit Bauk, Kuala Paka, Terendak and Kuala Kemaman, so we have discussed with the Wildlife and National Parks Department to build wildlife crossings in the areas involved to ensure the safety of those animals,” he added.

- Bernama