SYNOPSIS

The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is one of the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Malaysia. Spanning over 600km across four states, the ECRL will enhance connectivity between the east coast states of Peninsular Malaysia and the Kelang Valley. This is aimed at boosting the economy of the region, bridging the economic gaps between the east and west coasts and facilitating the movement of people and goods.

The ECRL traverses a myriad of landscapes and ecosystems – ranging from forests to agriculture land, from rivers to mountains, and from rural villages and large cities – leading to a variety of environmental challenges. The planning and design of the project had to be done carefully to protect the forests, wildlife habitats, hills and steep area and water catchments. Given the scale of the project and the sensitivity of the ecosystems involved, a lot of effort was put into optimising the project alignment and design.

The talk will focus on the environmental planning aspects of the ECRL, how the alignment was chosen and project was designed and the management structure put in to ensure the environment is protected.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

Dr. G. Balamurugan is the managing director of ERE Consulting Group, an environmental consultancy based in Subang Jaya. Dr Bala has a degree in Civil Engineering from University of Technology Malaysia, a Masters degree from University of Malaya and a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK. He has 30+ years of experience in consultancy and has served as a consultant to many Malaysian Government agencies, multinational companies and non-governmental organizations. Dr Bala has published a large number of papers in both local and international journals and has addressed many conferences on environmental planning and management.