KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stated that the high-speed rail line connecting Malaysia and Singapore is still under discussion. The Prime Minister mentioned that Transport Minister Anthony Loke will bring the matter forward to Singapore once a decision is made. “It is still being deliberated on our level. As soon as we reach a decision, Loke will liaise with his Singaporean counterpart,” he told the media after launching the Malaysia Commercialisation Year Summit 2023, here on Friday (Aug 4).
On Thursday (Aug 3), Singapore acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat revealed that they had not received any new proposals from Malaysia regarding the HSR line. “Singapore is willing to discuss any new proposals for a Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR from Malaysia in good faith, starting from a clean slate,” Chee said.
In December 2016, Malaysia and Singapore signed bilateral agreements for the project. The 350km railway line, aimed to be completed by 2026, would reduce travel time between both destinations to 90 minutes. However, the RM110 billion project was put on hold in September 2018, with both sides agreeing to delay it until December 31, 2020.
On January 1 of last year, Malaysia and Singapore jointly announced the termination of the project due to a lack of agreement on the proposed changes by Malaysia and the expiration of the agreement on December 31, 2020. In March of the same year, Malaysia paid S$102.8 million (RM330.3 million) to Singapore for the incurred costs and delays associated with the development of the HSR.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
