BENTONG: Excavation works on the Genting Tunnel portion of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) - spanning 16.39km through the Titiwangsa Range - is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2025, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said the Genting Tunnel would be the first ECRL tunnel to use the tunnel boring machine (TBM) method compared with the drilling and blasting methods used in other tunnels.
Works on the first tunnel started last June and the second, three months later.
"So far, excavation works of the first Genting Tunnel have reached a length of 2,602m and 2,497m for the second Genting Tunnel,” he told reporters after visiting the tunnel construction site here today (April 11).
Also present were Pahang Public works, transport and health committee chairman Datuk Mohammad Fakhruddin Mohd Ariff, Transport Ministry secretary-general Datuk Jana Santhiran Muniayan and Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak.
Loke also described the construction of the Genting Tunnel that connects Bukit Tinggi, Pahang and Gombak, Selangor as a key component of the ECRL, as it completes the land bridge for cargo transportation from Kuantan Port to Port Klang, in addition to connecting passengers from the east coast to Gombak.
On the ECRL construction works spanning a total of 665km, Loke said as of March, it has reached a progress rate of 42.06% while the current achievement for ECRL local participation is 96% of the estimated RM10.8bil in civil works.
He also said that the ECRL project has successfully stayed 10 million working hours accident-free and hoped that this can continue considering that it involves more than 17,000 workers at 350 main work sites.
"Compliance with safety and health aspects at work is absolute and cannot be neglected. I hope this project can be carried out smoothly and safely without sacrificing the interests of worker safety,” he said. - Bernama
