MALAYSIA

In July 2022, PRC and Malaysia agreed to foster cooperation under the BRI and advance key projects.

Since 2013, Malaysia has received substantial BRI-related funds for infrastructure, particularly railways and ports, including the Kuantan Port Expansion on Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast and the Melaka Gateway on its west coast. The Melaka Gateway mixed development, which is intended to include the largest private marina in Southeast Asia by 2025, is planned for four artificial islands with residential, commercial, cultural, entertainment, and lifestyle elements, but is facing delays because of controversy. Activists are calling for a halt to the project because neither and EIA nor a social impact assessment (SIA) was completed prior to land being reclaimed for the project.128

The Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), together with its twin park, the China- Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park is a government-to-government project that was facilitated through the BRI. The MCKIP is a 51:49 joint venture between a Malaysian consortium and a PRC consortium.129

Another BRI flagship project is the 688km East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) which will connect Kota Baru (Kelantan) to Port Klang (Selangor) passing through four Malaysian states. As of March 2022, the $11 billion railway project was almost 30 percent complete.130

A 350 km high-speed rail (HSR) link connecting Kuala Lumpur with Singapore is part of Kuala Lumpur’s Economic Transformation Program to improve mass transport and to reduce traffic congestion in the busiest region of the country. The project started in 2013 but was suspended between 2018 and November 2020.

128 Predeep Nambiar. Activists call for freeze on Melaka Gateway project. FMT. August nation/2022/08/20/activists-call-for-freeze-on-melaka-gateway-project/

129 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The Belt and Road Initiative in ASEAN: Malaysia, December 2020

130 Nick Augusteijn. Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link project nears 30-percent completion. RailTech.Com. Published on 09-03-2022 at 11:50 https://www. railtech.com/infrastructure/2022/03/09/malaysias-east-coast-rail-link-project-nears-30-percent-completion/?gdpr=accept

131 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The Belt and Road Initiative in ASEAN: Malaysia, December 2020