KUANTAN: The Pahang government has requested that the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project that passes through Kuantan, Maran, Temerloh and Bentong be extended to other districts in Pahang in the future, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.
He said the state government is proposing that the line be extended from Bentong to Raub or Jerantut before going to Lipis, and the route in Kuantan could include Pekan and Rompin.
“The ECRL is scheduled to be completed in 2026 and operational in 2027… in the state executive council meeting in the last two or three months, I have said that we (the state government) make a new application (to add the routes). Do not wait until the ECRL is completed and operational to make the request.
“I have requested that Pahang State Secretary (Datuk Seri Zulkifli Yaacob) through BPEN (State Economic Planning Division) to make an application. This means that we are taking early action and not wait for (ECRL) to be ready because it takes a long time,“ he said.
Wan Rosdy said this while interjecting in the debate of Datuk Abd Aziz Mat Kiram (BN-Batu Talam) on Pahang Budget 2024 at the Pahang State Legislative Assembly sitting at Wisma Sri Pahang here today.
He then reiterated that the Pahang government is taking proactive measures so that the ECRL in the state can be added after the project is scheduled to operate in 2027 from Kota Bharu, Kelantan to the Gombak Integrated Terminal, Selangor.
Earlier, Abd Aziz said the new ECRL alignment from Bentong to Lipis can connect the railway line on west Pahang, which indirectly also brings economic spillover to local residents.
The assembly will sit again tomorrow.–Bernama
