KUALA TERENGGANU: The gas pipeline leakage involving Petronas Gas Berhad at the East Coast Rail Link project site in Kerteh last Saturday will not affect the project’s progress according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Immediate action was taken to shut off the gas supply once the leak was detected followed by repair works by the relevant parties.
Loke stated that gas pipeline leaks typically do not explode unlike the previous incident in Putra Heights making this a different situation.
“Although there was a leak immediate action was taken to stop the supply with the leakage needing fixing and pipeline requiring straight away repairs,“ he told reporters after officiating the BAS dot MY Kuala Terengganu Service Transformation Programme at Pasar Payang.
Police had closed the main Kerteh-Ranggon road to all vehicles following the gas leak at the ECRL Section 5 site on Saturday morning.
Loke confirmed the incident is currently being investigated by several agencies including SIRIM the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and other relevant authorities.
Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd has already submitted a report to him with NIOSH conducting its own probe into the matter.
“Since this involves Petronas’ gas pipeline repairs will be carried out by them and I am confident this matter can be resolved promptly,“ he added.
Regarding the cause of the leak Loke stated that a full report has yet to be received with the cause not yet determined.
“The timeline for repairs can only be explained by Petronas since it involves their asset,“ he said while confirming the incident is not expected to disrupt overall ECRL development.
Meanwhile the Federal Government has allocated 40.81 million ringgit over five years or 8.16 million ringgit annually to support eight routes under the Stage Bus Service Transformation programme in Kuala Terengganu.
Since the expansion of BAS dot MY Kuala Terengganu in February this year from four routes to eight routes the average monthly ridership has increased to 24,000 passengers up to August 2025.
The BAS dot MY implementation in Kuala Terengganu covers eight routes across four local authorities including Kuala Terengganu City Council Hulu Terengganu District Council Setiu District Council and Marang District Council. – Bernama
