Signing of HSR deal between Singapore, KL postponed to later this month

SINGAPORE — The bilateral agreement on the high-speed rail (HSR) link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur will be signed as scheduled by the end of the year, “most likely” around Dec 21, said a Malaysian minister on Thursday (Dec 1).

This is the first indication that an annual retreat between the prime ministers of both countries that was planned for next week has been postponed.

Mr Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said in a statement that he had met Singapore Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Nov 29 to discuss the remaining details of the agreement.

“Both sides are now taking the necessary follow-up action to comply with their respective internal procedures and legal requirements for the signing of this agreement,” he said. 

Previously, Singapore’s Transport Ministry said that the agreement would be signed early this month. “We are working towards signing the bilateral agreement on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail at the next leaders’ retreat on Dec 5, 2016,” said the ministry on Nov 14.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was scheduled to meet his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak in Johor Baru for their annual retreat on that day. Both leaders were supposed to witness the signing of the HSR agreement.

In response to TODAY’s query on the matter, a spokesperson for Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) noted on Wednesday that there has been “excellent progress” on the negotiations for the agreement.

“Both Malaysia and Singapore are finalising the text, and look forward to its signing at the coming Leaders’ Retreat soon.”

Singapore and Malaysia signed a seven-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in July that aimed for the HSR services to kick off from 2026. The MoU paved the way for the legally binding bilateral agreement at the end of this year.

The HSR will reduce travel time between the two countries to just 90 minutes, with speeds of more than 300kmh. 

Besides Putrajaya, other stations along the route are Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Seremban (Negeri Sembilan), Ayer Keroh (Malacca), Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri in Johor, as well as Singapore. 

The service, when introduced, will draw both countries and their people closer, providing a new channel for economic opportunities and breathing new life into the towns dotting the tracks.

In an interview with national news agency Bernama on Monday, Mr Lee said a sound bilateral agreement that spells out how the HSR project will be structured and executed is critical, given the complexity of the development.

“This is the first requirement, that we have a very good agreement which sets out clearly a sound basis to build and operate the system,” he said. “The project’s execution will be very important — in designing it, in calling for tenders, evaluating the proposals.” 

Mr Lee added that several HSR systems in the world have been lobbying very hard to get the HSR contract, including those from Japan, Korea and China. AGENCIES