Malaysia's mega train project proceeds with eye on environment protection

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), Malaysia's mega rail project being built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), is taking additional steps to ensure the protection of the environment in areas affected by its construction.

Among these are special passageways allowing various animals including elephants, tigers and tapirs to safely cross under the railway's tracks and various tunnels and sections of elevated tracks to minimize any disturbance to the surrounding tropical jungle, according to an official from Malaysia Rail Link (MRL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia's Ministry of Finance and the ECRL project owner.

MRL head of environment Norhasrul Abu Hassan, who briefed the media on a site visit to the Kemasul area, where special elephant crossings are being built, said the builders have prioritized environmental concerns from the start of the project.

"Based on the engineering evaluation and all our discussions with the forestry and wildlife departments we managed to reduce the area (affected) by almost 90 percent," he added.

In addition to protecting Malaysia's forest cover, Norhasrul said careful consideration has been given to the presence of wildlife through its wildlife management plan, with efforts made to educate the construction crews on how to handle encounters with wildlife in close cooperation with the authorities.

The project had also seen a memorandum of agreement signed between the project and the wildlife department in 2018, with more than 9 million ringgit (1.9 million U.S. dollars) being allocated to monitor the impact on wildlife and their habitats among other things, along key stretches of the ECRL alignment.

Shahidan Mohd Alwee, an ECRL environmental officer, said that environmental concerns about the dust and noise from the construction had been effectively addressed and resolved.

The ECRL runs from Malaysia's largest transport hub Port Klang and travels across the peninsula to Kelantan state in northeastern Malaysia. The rail link is expected to greatly enhance connectivity and bring more balanced growth to the country by linking its less-developed region on the east coast to the economic heartland on the west coast upon its completion in 2026.