KUALA LUMPUR - The projects of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and Kuala Lumpur to Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) could bring 32 billion ringgit ($7.56 billion) worth jobs for Malaysian contractors, said CIMB Research in a report on Thursday.

While the award timeline remains uncertain for HSR, the research house's analyst Sharizan Rosely believes the 55 billion ringgit ECRL project could begin awarding contracts in December at the earliest.

"Given that construction works are largely targeted to commence in 2018, we believe awards of the civil works should occur over the next six to nine months," he added.

The China Communications Construction Company (CCCC)-led ECRL project is targeted to be completed in June 2024.

ECRL's project owner Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) announced Wednesday that a total of 1,118 engineering and construction companies in Malaysia have shown their interests in the civil works of the railway project.