Take into account consumer aspect in ECRL project

KUALA LUMPUR: Consumers' interests have to be taken into account in the implementation of the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) to ensure the project meets its objective project.
A senior lecturer at the Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Dr Balqis Mohamed Rehan said among the matters to be considered was on the accessibility of the service should flood occur.
"The tracks may be built on higher ground that will not be affected by floods, but will the service be accessible to the local community, not only during  times of huge flood like in Kelantan in 2014, but when the roads are flooded and not passable to vehicles. Such a situation is enough to give a huge impact on consumers," she said.
Balqis was met at the Congress of International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) at the Putra World Trade Centre here today.
She said the railway line, most of which would be along the coastal areas, could reduce the possibility of it being submerged in the flood, but other factors, like climate change, had to be considered as it could result in the rise of the sea water level in future.
"The risk will always be there. It can never be avoided, but the risks could be minimised," she said.
Meanwhile, Head of Water Resources Engineering and Management Research Centre (WAREM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Associate Prof Dr Shanker Kumar Sinnakaudan said an impact assessment on the society and the environment should be carried out.
"The Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak) himself is very concerned about social impact. Even for a small project, he wants assessments made. It is mandatory now.
"The impact to be assessed include the effect of development on the local community, such as land usage, effect on local economic activities, etc," he said.
He said the public should not be unduly worried over the construction of tunnels which was said to cause damage to the environment.
"The technology that we have today is very advanced and it should be remembered that all decisions made are based on the recommendations of geotechnical engineers," he said.
The ECRL project was launched by Najib at the ECRL KotaSas Central Station Project site in Kuantan last Aug 9.
The RM55 billion rail link, stretching 688km, is expected to reduce travelling time from the Integrated Transport Terminal (ITT) in Gombak, Selangor to Kota Baru, Kelantan, by four hours compared to the average eight hours and even up to 12 hours or more, during the festive seasons. — Bernama