MRL, CCCC ink supplementary ECRL agreement
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) has signed the supplementary agreement 7 (SA7) with the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project contractor for the connection from the last station at Jalan Kastam, Port Klang, to Westports and Northport (Section D).
MRL chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said the company had signed the SA7 with China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC), signifying that the Section D portion will be implemented by CCCC as the main contractor to complete the project.
'There will certainly be further development announcements made in due course in relation to this matter,' he told the media at the RHB-MRL 360 Degree Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Financial Ecosystem event in Putrajaya yesterday.
Darwis said the SA7 covered a 25-km track from Jalan Kastam in Port Klang to Northport and Westports. 'It will involve the construction of meter gauge and standard gauge simultaneously on the route.
'We have an existing meter gauge under Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, and the standard gauge will also be built, meaning the meter gauge and standard gauge side-by-side, to reach Northport and Westports.'
Darwis said the construction of Section D is important to complete the entire rail line network from Kota Baru, Kelantan, to Port Klang, Selangor.
'We are not just stopping at Jalan Kastam but are reaching the two ports (Northport and Westports). Our intention is to ensure that the land bridge connectivity between Kuantan Port and Port Klang will be realised,' he said.
He said the SA7 is part of the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract, which was signed in November 2016. The supplementary agreement was previously announced by Transport Minister Anthony Loke last April.
Meanwhile, RHB Bank chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir said MRL is the first government-linked company in Malaysia to establish a sustainable financial value chain transition roadmap, placing proceeds from its green sukuk issuance into RHB ESG deposits while awaiting disbursement for the ECRL construction.
'This ensures that idle funds are not only preserved, but also contribute to national decarbonisation through the use of capital, within a transparent circular sustainable financial model to support broader climate goals,' he said.
He said RHB ESG deposits would be allocated to projects aligned with national priorities such as renewable energy, clean transportation and social inclusion.
All financing activities are guided by RHB's ESG business activity guidelines, Bank Negara Malaysia's climate change and principle-based taxonomy as well as the Asean taxonomy for sustainable finance.
MRL successfully issued its green Sustainable Development Goals sukuk, setting a record by achieving the lowest credit spread ever for a government-guaranteed infrastructure issuance in Malaysia. — Bernama
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