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SINGAPORE: Malaysia will decide this year whether to go ahead with plans for a high-speed rail (HSR) between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore as it shortlists proposals from a handful of private consortiums to back the project, an official confirmed.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in an interview on Wednesday (July 17) that he hopes the Cabinet will make a decision on the feasibility of the multi-billion dollar project by the end of the fourth quarter.
“Once we make a policy decision to move forward with high-speed rail, we will start negotiations with Singapore,” he was quoted as saying by local media.
Loke added that the government had shortlisted three from the seven consortiums that submitted proposals, following a request for information late last year.
He did not name the associations but confirmed that the government’s policy is to award high-speed rail projects to groups that are at least 51% owned by Malaysian companies.
In March this year, regional news platform The Edge reported that a separate proposal led by YTL Group, Berjaya Land Ltd and China Railway Construction Group had been shortlisted for the project.
Berjaya Rail, a subsidiary of Berjaya Land, announced on Wednesday that it has joined Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation (MARIC) as a new member. MARIC is an association of 50 major railway companies that aims to establish a public-private partnership to build a railway network.
This high-speed rail project is 350 kilometers long and has a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour. First proposed in 2013 A binding agreement was signed in December 2016, with the goal of having the line operational by 2026.
However, the agreement was initially halted after it was postponed several times at the request of Malaysia and finally lapsed in December 2020.
Malaysia paid Singapore more than S$102 million (US$75.8 million) in compensation for terminating the project.
Talk of a Malaysian renaissance intensified after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim came to power after the 2022 general election and visited Singapore early last year to meet with Singaporean leaders.
On August 3 last year, then-Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in Parliament Singapore willing to discuss any new proposals from Malaysia Take the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail project seriously and “start from scratch”.
In December last year, Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, who ascended to the throne in January, advocated reviving the project and suggested building it through Forest City, a mega development in which he has a stake.
The HSR aims to cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore from more than four hours by car to one and a half hours.
As a government-funded project, the project is expected to cost up to RM100 billion (US$21.4 billion). Loke said the cost could be lower depending on the option selected.
However, he warned that while the government did not rule out aid, it was not keen on providing guarantees for fear of adding to the country’s debt burden.
He added that the high-speed rail could eventually connect to another project, Malaysia’s $10 billion China-backed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which is expected to connect the east and west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia by the end of 2026, with service expected to start the following year.
He also mentioned discussions with Thailand on a proposal to connect their rail networks, with the ultimate goal of connecting more of Southeast Asia to China by rail.
“I believe we can continue to push and continue to convince our counterparts in Thailand and Laos to get involved in this,” he said.
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