KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): The land acquisition process for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in Selangor is progressing smoothly, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

He said the land acquisition process is focused on the last section of the rail line near the Klang district, which involves densely populated areas.

He is confident that the process could be completed according to schedule as the state government is cooperating, and the contractor has experience resolving land acquisition issues in three East Coast states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.

"It is normal for landowners to be initially dissatisfied. They may need clarification, or perhaps want an increase in compensation and so on. That's a common thing.

"I believe that whatever issues arising regarding land acquisition will be settled with fair compensation," Loke told Bernama after recording a special programme for Bernama TV, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations at Wisma Bernama on Tuesday.

Loke said that the state governments involved had cooperated well with the ECRL project contractor, China Communications Construction (ECRL) Sdn Bhd, in resolving land acquisition issues.

"State governments play the biggest role in resolving land acquisition issues, because they also know that this project will benefit their states," he said.

Loke said construction of the 665km ECRL is proceeding according to schedule, with the East Coast alignment now entering the station construction phase.

He said the most critical part of the ECRL construction, the Genting Tunnel spanning 16.39km across the Titiwangsa range, had reached 30%, and will take over a year to be completed.

The ECRL is meant to enhance connectivity between the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, and the West Coast states of Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, which are now only partially connected by railway services.

The Ministry of Transport had said that the ECRL was scheduled for completion in December 2026, and would be operational from January 2027.