PUTRAJAYA – The government has agreed to extend the deadline for East Coast Rail Link’s (ECRL) contractor to bring in foreign workers for the project as it is nearing 70% completion, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
China Communications Construction Company (M) Sdn Bhd (CCC) needs more labourers but had been restricted by the government’s May 31 deadline for foreign workers’ entry into Malaysia under present quotas.
Following a joint meeting with Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, Saifuddin said that as the ECRL is a high-impact project, CCC will be granted an extended deadline.
“The project’s progress is now almost 70%, so (there is a) need for labour under the existing quota. They (CCC) have a quota, but their process of bringing in workers is tied to the deadline we set.
“We are allowing an extension for them to bring in labour under the given quota, so the ECRL’s construction is not interrupted,” he said during a joint press conference with Sim at Menara Perkeso, here, today.
Initially, the final date for new foreign workers’ entry into the formal sector with the Visa with Reference (VDR) had been set for May 31. From June 1, no more foreign workers under active quotas would be allowed in.
In April, Saifuddin announced that VDR applications were extended from March 31 to April 21 due to technical issues affecting the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System, but said the entry deadline would remain at May 31.
On May 9, CCC said ECRL’s system installation works have commenced and would be the final phase of the construction work, before entering the testing and commissioning phase.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the project was set to complete by the end of 2026, and would be operational from January the next year.
The mega-railway project, with a construction tab of RM50.27 billion, will be 665km-long and connect Kota Bharu to Port Klang, with 20 stations across Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor. – May 20, 2024