Railway losses may reach RM250mil

KUALA KRAI: KTM Berhad has estimated almost RM250mil in losses due to damage to railway infrastructure by the floods in the east coast states.

Its chairman Datuk Nawawi Ahmad said KTMB would engage an independent committee to determine the actual cost.

“For now, we are placing the figure at RM250mil. This includes damage to railway quarters, signalling, tracks, locomotives, machinery, rolling stock and so on,” he told Bernama after a first-hand look at the damaged railway station here yesterday.

KTMB had to cancel all train services on the east coast route after flooding at several stretches of the tracks and a few stations.

In Maran, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said some RM800mil had been spent in the first phase of the flood disaster relief so far.

More allocation was needed in facing the second phase although the amount had not been finalised yet, he said.

In Kota Baru, Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob said apart from the Federal Government’s proposal to build temporary shelters, the state government had a long-term plan of building permanent houses with three rooms for flood victims who lost their homes.

“We are sourcing for RM52.5mil to carry out a project to build houses for about 1,500 flood victims who lost their houses. We are hoping for contributions from millionaires and banking institutions to fund the project,” he said after launching a gotong-royong at the Kota Sultan Ismail Petra yesterday.