But in April, the close trade partners agreed to proceed with the ECRL project at a cost of RM44 billion ($14.6 billion), reducing it from RM65.5 billion.
DUNGUN, TERENGGANU (July 25): China and Malaysia resumed construction of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in peninsula Malaysia on Thursday, after a year-long suspension and following a rare agreement to cut its cost by nearly a third to about US$11 billion ($15 billion).
The project was initially cancelled by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who came to power after a shock election victory in May last year, as he followed through a pledge to renegotiate or cancel "unfair" Chinese mega-projects approved by his predecessor, Najib Razak.
