KOTA BARU: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, which will snake through four districts in Kelantan, will involve the acquisition of 1,561 lots of land.
State Works, Utility and Infrastructure Committee chairman Datuk Azami Mohd Nor told the State Assembly sitting today that the four districts are Kota Baru, Machang, Bachok and Pasir Putih.
He said the state government has selected a special working committee to coordinate the work, including the selection of 40 per cent of local contractors.
"We will select the suitable local contractors based on the standard requirements," he said when replying to a question from Abdul Aziz Kadir (Pas-Jelawat).
Azami said the state government will study in detail all suggestion made by contractors as well as suppliers involved in the project.
He added that the committee will also explore outstanding issues related to the project which could not be solved by relevant authorities.
The ECRL, which originally had a price tag of RM65.5 billion, was cancelled when the Pakatan Harapan government came into power, only to be resumed on April 12 last year at a lower cost of RM44 billion.
The ECRL is a 640km railway connecting the east and west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia.
The new rail link will pass through Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Putrajaya, and Selangor.