According to Bernama, Deputy Finance Minister Othman Aziz told the house that the project would also explore sources of non-operating income such as advertising, retail and so on to cover the repayment of loans.
“ECRL is expected to earn revenue through passenger fares, payment for cargo services and non-fare earnings.
“We expect the project to bring in revenue from 2024, with a projected income of RM2.9 billion,” Bernama quoted him as saying.
Othman was replying to a question from Ewon Ebin (BN-Ranau) who had wanted to know the national income projection from the implementation of the ECRL and whether such income was sufficient to repay the project financing loan.
The deputy minister said ECRL was expected to raise the east coast region’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product by 1.5%.
He said the repayment of the project cost, which involved 85% financing through a soft loan from Exim Bank and 15% funded by the provision of a “sukuk” or bond programme by local financial institutions, would begin in 2024.