KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 ― Chinese construction giant China Communications Construction Company was behind the land clearing reported to have taken place inside the Selangor State Park, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari confirmed today.

The activities were said to be part of the massive East Coast Railway Link project of which CCCC is the turnkey developer.

Amirudin told Malay Mail that CCCC had obtained the permit to clear land earmarked for a 2.3 kilometre road to be built for "entry facilities” but had begun construction "without approval.”

Authorities are currently investigating the matter after a police report was lodged last December, the Gombak MP said.

"There was a road permit issued (Permit number: BU-PJ-3-22) to CCCC Sdn. Bhd. for the purpose of constructing a road towards adit entry facilities for the ECRL project that spans 2.3 km (1.8 hectare),” Amirudin said in a text reply.

"The CCCC had started work without approval and enforcement action had been taken December 2022,” he added.

The Selangor MB did not elaborate if the company had been penalised or directed to stop all construction work.

CCCC's activities in the protected Selangor State Park was reported by deforestation watchdog Rimba Disclosure Project Wednesday.

Using satellite imagery, the group said it found "odd activities” that appeared like land clearing in parts of the Hulu Gombak Forest Reserve and close to the Serendah Forest Reserve.

It then conducted a field probe around the locations and found notices of construction work had been erected, indicating that roads were being built for the Gombak-Port Klang section of the ECRL.

That section of the project, however, has yet to receive approval from the Department of Environment, the group noted.

State local government, public transport and new village development committee chairman Ng Sze Han said in December last year that the proposal had been approved only "in principle.”

The Selangor State Park is over 108,000 hectares in size and was gazetted by the state on January 25, 2007.

Upon its establishment, it became the second largest park in Peninsular Malaysia with the largest being Taman Negara.