The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project can be revived, but only with the full involvement of the private sector and with minimal government expenditure, said Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, reported New Straits Times.
The Malaysian government faces several constraints, including unresolved issues which must be prioritised in the interest of the public, Anwar said, adding that all mega projects would be put on hold to prioritise other critical infrastructure initiatives.
“Our position (Malaysia) is to invite participation from the private sector because the government has limitations. We are focusing on pressing issues such as flood mitigation, education, and healthcare, which are priorities for at least the next year or two,” the Malaysian prime minister said.
“As such, the main project may need to be deferred to allow us to settle some outstanding matters, [but] we are still waiting for promising contributions from the private sector to proceed when necessary,” Anwar said in a joint press conference with the prime minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong.
While there have been initial proposals for the HSR, any decision will only be made once all considerations are thoroughly examined, and will only move forward if there is full participation from the private sector, and involves minimal spending by the government, Anwar continued.
Meanwhile, Singaporean prime minister Wong said that the city-state is ready to discuss the matter while waiting for a new proposal from Malaysia should the rail project be revived, reported NST.
“As far as the HSR is concerned, it’s unfortunate that we could not proceed with it originally. However, we are open to reviewing new proposals from Malaysia. From our perspective, greater connectivity between our two countries is always a plus,” Wong said.
The latest remarks from the Malaysian prime minister essentially recap the statement made last December by Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke, who said that the Malaysian cabinet will make a decision on the HSR by early January. The cabinet decision will not conclude the matter but will instead set the direction for future discussions with Singapore, Loke said.
The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project was first agreed upon in 2013, and this will be the 12th year negotiations will have been ongoing, including postponements and the cancellation in 2021. The initial bilateral agreement was signed in December 2016 for completion in 2025 to become operational in 2026.
At Malaysia’s request in 2018, both governments agreed to postpone the project until May 2020 to identify cost reduction options, resulting in Malaysia paying S$15 million (around RM45.1 million at the time) for abortive costs incurred by Singapore.
In May 2020, the deferment was extended again to December 31, as it was decided at the time that the decision to cancel the project will incur cost for the country. It was previously reported that Malaysia would have to reimburse Singapore for the project implementation costs incurred by the latter up to the point of suspension, prior to its cancellation in January 2021.
With Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as PM in 2022, Malaysia initiated talks of reviving the HSR. This was followed by the current Malaysian administration, which was reported in July 2023 to be considering a public-private partnership model for the HSR project to proceed without public funds.
The post KL-Singapore HSR project can be revived, but with full private sector involvement: Anwar Ibrahim appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
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