The Malacca government plans to build an undersea tunnel for a rail system network linking Malacca and Dumai in Indonesia.
Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali said according to plans, the tunnel would be built across the Straits of Malacca.
“This is a long-term plan. The shortest distance between Malacca and Dumai is 47 kilometres,” he told a press conference after the launch of Malacca Week at Expo 2020 Dubai at the Malaysia Pavilion yesterday.
Commenting on the same matter, Malacca senior executive councillor for Investment, Industry and Entrepreneur Development Ab Rauf Yusoh said so far one company had expressed interest to build the tunnel.
However, he said the agreement and approval of the Indonesian government were required for the project to be implemented.
“The firm from Malaysia is only capable of meeting 50 percent of the total project cost.
“If everything goes smoothly, construction of the tunnel will take four to five years,” he added.
The project is seen as capable of helping to boost the gross domestic product growth of Malacca.
Malacca’s economy is currently highly dependent on the services sector but the manufacturing industry is fast catching up.