KUALA TERENGANU: The tourism, business and investment fraternity in Terengganu enthusiastically welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement on the proposed East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) project.
The proposal has already propped up confidence among the business community, oil and gas industries, farmers and residents of the states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.
Among them is Terengganu Tourist Association deputy president Alex Lee Yun Ping, who said the ECRL is urgently needed to boost not only tourism, but the fledgling business, commerce, oil and gas, and agro-based industries in the peninsula’s east coast region.
“For so long, this region has been left behind. It is lagging in terms of development, infrastrcture, much-needed revenue and jobs.
“The statistics speak for themselves – just look at the numbers,” said Lee, who organised the just-concluded annual Terengganu International Eco and Marine Tourism Conference (Temco).
He added that the ECRL would provide the much-needed connectivity to the Klang Valley, down south to Singapore and up north to Thailand, thus expanding the market for resources and trade.
“Railways have proven to be successful in developing cities in Europe, China, India, Russia and the Americas. Likewise, major towns on the peninsula’s east coast, like Kemaman, Kertih, Kota Baru and Kuantan, will also boom with better access for travel and transportation,” said Lee, who is also chief executive officer of Ping Anchorage Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd.
However, he cautioned that the ECRL should be made affordable so as not to burden the business community and the people in general.
“The ECRL should complement other public transport modes like buses, lorries and aircraft. It should be able to facilitate the activities of businessmen and tourists who prefer just a day’s trip to attend meetings or events.
“I believe the ECRL will be popular if its ticketing prices are competitive, as travel by rail has a better safety record,” said Lee.
Meanwhile, Terengganu Investment coordinator Datuk Tok Teng Sai said the ECRL will be a key enabler for the region, connecting economic centres including industrial areas, and providing a link to Greater Kuala Lumpur/the Klang Valley efficiently.
The ECRL, he said, would complement the existing East Coast Highway from Karak to Kuala Terengganu, and the KTMB rail link to the ports and towns.
“Infrastructure development is critical to the East Coast Economic Region (ECER)’s multi-modal growth and the ECRL will be a backbone component for it,” Tok said.
The 600km ECRL will run from Port Klang in Selangor through Kuala Lumpur to Bentong and Kuantan in Pahang, and then to Terengganu’s Kemaman, Kertih and Kuala Terengganu, before proceeding to Kota Baru and ending in Tumpat, Kelantan.
Najib announced that the ECRL would spur a new wave of development to realise the socio-economic potential of the ECER.
Najib said the ECRL has been identified as a high-impact project which would serve as the backbone transport infrastructure for the ECER.
The ECER is an area measuring more than 66,000 square kilometres, or 51 per cent of the total area of peninsular Malaysia, with a total population of 4.43 million. It covers the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, as well as the district of Mersing in Johor.