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PETALING JAYA: Singapore’s Ministry of Transport has confirmed that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project has been canceled.
In a statement today, the ministry said Malaysia has to compensate Singapore for the costs it has incurred as part of its obligations under the bilateral agreement.
Earlier, a well-located source in Putrajaya told FMT that the compensation Malaysia would have to pay Singapore is around RM320 million.
The ministry said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Muhyiddin Yassin discussed the status of the project on December 2.
“Since then, Malaysia has allowed the HSR bilateral agreement to be terminated and has to compensate Singapore for the costs already incurred by Singapore to fulfill its obligations under the parties’ agreement.
“Our relationship with Malaysia is deep and multifaceted, and we look forward to continuing good relations and close cooperation with Malaysia for the mutual benefit of the people of both countries,” he said.
In a separate joint statement, the offices of Lee and Muhyiddin said the bilateral agreement had expired after Malaysia and Singapore failed to agree on Putrajaya’s proposed changes to the project.
The proposed changes were made in light of the impact of Covid-19 on the Malaysian economy.
“Both countries will comply with their respective obligations and will now proceed with the necessary actions, resulting from this termination of the HSR agreement,” the joint statement added.
The bilateral agreement, signed in 2016, had been suspended at the request of Malaysia since September 2018, and the deadline for the extension of the suspension expired yesterday.
In November, informed sources told FMT that Putrajaya was considering continuing the HSR project without Singapore.
They said the new line would be between Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru.
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