Former Malaysian prime minster Najib Razak (third from left) inspects a model of the East Coast Rail Link during the project’s launch in Kuantan in 2017. (AP File Photo)

Malaysia will cancel the US$20-billion East Coast Rail Link project with contractor China Communications Construction Co Ltd, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said on Saturday.

“The decision was taken because the cost of the project was too high and beyond the government’s financial capability,” Azmin told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

“If the project is not cancelled, the government will have to bear the interest rate of about half a billion ringgit a year, which we can’t afford. Therefore, the project needs to be terminated without jeopardising relations with China.”

Azmin said the amount of compensation for the cancellation will be determined by the Finance Ministry, which is conducting due diligence, to ensure that the cost would not weigh on the country’s financial position.

He said that while the government had received several proposals, it had yet to decide on whether it would appoint a new developer for the rail project as that would depend on the country’s financial capability.

China Communications Construction took steps on Thursday to rationalise its workforce following the Malaysian finance ministry’s instruction last year to suspend all contracts related to Malaysia Rail Link Sdn.

Malaysia Rail Link was appointed to oversee the East Coast Rail Link with China Communications Construction as the main contractor. The total cost for the project was expected to reach 81 billion ringgit ($19.6 billion).