When then-prime minister Najib Razak announced the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL ) project in 2016, he estimated it would cost RM55 billion. The following year, it was revealed that the ECRL’s construction had value RM65.5 billion in full.
After that, it was claimed that the project’s costs were exaggerated because Chinese state-owned companies were agreeing to pay the enormous debts of troubled sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad ( 1MDB).
His new administration planned to resign the ECRL in order to save money when the Pakatan Harapan ( PH) coalition came into power in 2018 under Mahathir Mohamad, the next premier.
But in 2019, the PH state, eager to avoid paying a hefty termination charge of RM21.78 billion, later renegotiated the ECRL partnership and road position, bringing the price down to RM44 billion.
Mahathir claimed that the overall cost of the loan would be decreased as well, with lower interest rates and fees being paid on the loan, though no specific figures were provided.
The ECRL’s realignment was also politically motivated because the PH government proposed a southern route through the state of Negeri Sembilan, which is home to Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s Seremban district.
The new Perikatan Nasional government, which included Barisan Nasional ( BN ) from Najib, largely followed its original plan and revised the cost estimate to RM50 billion in 2020.  ,
The political conflict continued, with the new alignment alleged to have spanned at least five parliamentary constituencies that were all heavily contested and lost by BN component parties during the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
After the election of Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister in 2022, he declared in December that year his administration would start using the ECRL at a “reduced” cost of almost RM75 billion, revealing that the cost at the time of approval in 2016 was close to RM86 billion.
The cost of construction, which totals RM50.27 billion, and other costs, including interest fees during construction and land acquisition costs, total RM24.69 billion.
Anwar reaffirmed that his government will not significantly alter the project to prevent putting off its completion and putting incontrovertible steps and negotiations.