Menteri Besar Azmin Ali said discussions had been held with the project’s steering committee as stipulated by law.

He told the state assembly today that construction of the 600km long rail track would have an impact on the environment and the people.

The China-funded ECRL project, scheduled to start in July this year, is said to be the largest ever railway project by the private sector, and was announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak when tabling Budget 2017 in October last year.

When completed in 2024, it will connect the Klang Valley with Kuantan, Pahang, up to Terengganu and Tumpat in Kelantan.

Yesterday, DAP rep Yeo Bee Yin warned the Selangor government that the project would affect the people in the state, saying the project’s high cost would be transferred to them in the form of train fare and cargo fees.

“Either way, the people will eventually need to pay for it,” she said.

A feasibility study by government-appointed consultant HSS Integrated had estimated the cost of the project at less than RM30 billion.