About 70 parties express interest in high-speed rail

SINGAPORE — Around 70 companies and consortiums have already registered their interest in participating in the joint market sensing exercise on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project.

These include entities based in Singapore, Malaysia and overseas, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA), in response to TODAY’s queries. “We are encouraged by the interest,” the spokesperson added. “Companies that have yet to register are still welcome to do so.”

The Request for Information (RFI) exercise, launched by Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and the LTA, is aimed at gauging market sentiment on the project, as well as gather industry opinion on its commercial and technical aspects. Companies have been asked to register their interest in participating before today (Oct 16). Those found to be eligible will then submit their responses to the RFI documents by Nov 18 at 12pm.

The exercise, which will wrap up by the end of the year, will help inform the subsequent formal tender process. National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der Horng said the large number of companies which have registered is due to the HSR market in countries such as Japan and Europe “getting more saturated”. For example, there are not many HSR lines or plans in the pipelines in Japan and Europe, said Professor Lee. “So, that’s why much of the attention has shifted to Asia,” he added. A HSR project — from Jakarta to Bandung on Indonesia’s main island of Java — was also suddenly scrapped last month because the route was too short for a high-speed train, driving more interest to the Singapore-Malaysia project.

He also noted that the international community sees that both the Singapore and Malaysia governments have been “very sincere” and will get the HSR project moving.

On how many companies or consortiums are likely to bid for the KL-Singapore HSR project, Prof Lee expects “not more than 10” to do so. There are not many qualified companies globally which are able to deliver an HSR project, he noted.

Dr Walter Theseira, senior lecturer at SIM University, said: “It’s not surprising for many companies to be participating because this is likely to be one of the largest civil engineering projects in Singapore and Malaysia ... Although 70 companies participated, that doesn’t mean all 70 are capable of being the lead contractor to design and build the entire (HSR) system.”

Leaders of China and Japan have indicated their interest in taking part in the project.

Firms reportedly keen include China Railway Construction Corporation, CRRC Corporation — formed from a merge of two Chinese rail giants. A Japanese consortium comprising East Japan Railway Company, Sumitomo Corporation, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, have been formed ahead of the bidding for the project.

French company Alstom Transport Asia-Pacific’s senior vice-president, Mr Dominique Pouliquen, also said that his firm is “very keen”.

“No doubt this particular HSR project represents a major opportunity for economic growth in the region and will have long-term impact on the rail development in ASEAN countries.”