KUANTAN, March 12 — The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project has achieved a new milestone with 30 tunnel excavations so far, including three breakthroughs in a single day in Bentong district.

Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), in a statement today, said that the three tunnels in Bentong are the Bentong 1 tunnel measuring 561 metres, Kampung Lentang 1 tunnel (270 metres) and Kampung Lentang 2 tunnel (478 metres).

Its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said the 30-tunnel achievement was supported by advanced tunnel excavation technology and close collaboration among the ECRL teams along the 665-kilometre (km) route.

"We are optimistic that the construction of the ECRL route from Kota Bharu to the Integrated Transport Terminal (ITT) in Gombak will be completed by December 2026, considering that the challenging tunnel excavation work and geological conditions have progressed smoothly and according to schedule,” he said.

He said the ECRL project has achieved an overall progress of 62.4 per cent as of February this year, supported by 23,000 workers at about 1,900 construction sites along its route in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor.

The construction of ECRL tunnels in the Bentong district will allow the railway track to comply with its maximum gradient of 0.9 per cent, reducing deforestation and minimising the impact on wildlife in the area, the statement read.

The ECRL project involves the construction of 41 tunnels with a total length of approximately 69 km along its route, with 21 tunnels located in Section A (Kota Baru-Dungun) and Section B (Dungun-Mentakab), while 20 more are in Section C (Mentakab-Port Klang). — Bernama