SEREMBAN: Nilai is expected to join Kuala Klawang and Jelebu as one of the three stations in Negri Sembilan for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said the matter was decided following a meeting and discussion between the state government and Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) on Aug 8.
The meeting had also presented the latest ECRL route options covering two stations in Negri Sembilan namely Kuala Klawang and Nilai.
"The state government was informed that to date, the ECRL had yet to be finalised as it needs to be carefully studied in regards to various aspects such as social and environmental impact, operating impact, level of savings, technical suitability and the costs and challenges in its implementation.
"The first meeting to discuss on the route options was held with MRL on Aug 8. The latest route option presented by MRL include two stations in Negri Sembilan namely Kuala Klawang and Nilai," he said in response to a question from Yap Yew Weng (DAP-Mambau) at the state assembly sitting here today.
The findings would be presented to members of the Government Council on Sept 18.
Aminuddin said the development of the ECRL route would provide a wealth of benefits, especially in terms of job opportunities related to construction and transport and would also go towards stimulating economic growth in Jelebu.
"The business environment will also change with the presence of more workers in the area. This will create opportunities for the medium and small-scale economies as well as increased demand for food, housing, retail as well as transportation.
"In addition, the project will serve as a catalyst for the tourism sector in Jelebu and will promote existing eco-tourism products such as Kenaboi State Park and other eco-parks," he said.
Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan (BN-Rantau) said since an ECRL station was to be built in Nilai, the state government should turn the station into an integrated transport hub.
"We would like to suggest that the state government consider the development of the Malaysia Vision Valley 2.0 (MVV 2.0) because in the early stages, there was a Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project which had already been approved as an international station.
"We propose (Nilai station) to be turned into an integrated transport hub and if possible ECRL be connected to the station to facilitate passenger movement from the East Coast to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).”