Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob hopes the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) project would include local materials and contractors.

“It is hoped that local materials will be used , apart from local contractors be given the opportunity to also be involved in this mega project,” he said in a statement which was sent via Whats App to the media here yesterday.

Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday officiated the ground breaking ceremony for the ECRL project at KotasSas which is expected to stimulate economic growth for the East Coast Economic region and a forecast of 1.5 per cent growth in gross domestic product for the three east coast states upon completion of the project in 2024.

The ECRL project would involve a high-technology railway track stretching 688 kilometres from Gombak in Selangor to Kota Bharu in Kelantan.

In Pahang, the line stretches 232.4 kilometer passing through Bentong, Mentakab, Maran, Gambang, KotaSas, Kuantan Port, and Cherating, 229.6 kilometres in Terengganu, passing through Chukai, Kemasik, Dungun, Pengkalan Berangan, Kuala Terengganu, Telaga Papan, and kampung Raja, while in Kelantan the ECRL would pass through Tok Bali, Jelawat and Kota Bharu, stretching 46.1 kilometres.

The high-impact project under the 11th Malaysia Plan would provide more than 3,600 employment opportunities for graduates in the industry, where for a start, 50 graduates in civil engineering would be selected for the ECRL Skilled Industrial Training programme to be held at Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP).

- Bernama