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SINGAPORE – The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project has ended, after the two countries failed to agree on the changes proposed by Malaysia before the December 31 deadline.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Muhyiddin Yassin announced this in a joint statement on Friday (January 1) morning.
The statement said that the Malaysian government had proposed several changes to the HSR project in light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Malaysian economy.
“Both Governments had had several discussions regarding these changes and had not been able to reach an agreement. Therefore, the HSR Agreement had expired on December 31, 2020.”
The statement said that both countries will comply with their respective obligations and will now proceed with the necessary actions, resulting from the termination of the HSR Agreement.
“Both countries remain committed to maintaining good bilateral relations and cooperating closely in various fields, including strengthening connectivity between the two countries.”
The joint statement on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project came one day after the deadline to make a decision on the twice-delayed bilateral project.
PM Lee and Mr. Muhyiddin had held talks on the HSR via video conference on December 2, after Malaysia previously proposed some changes.
Later, both parties said that they would announce more details about the HSR Project through a joint statement in due course.
But the writing had been on the wall, following several Malaysian news reports citing anonymous sources saying the Malaysian cabinet planned to continue the project without Singapore’s involvement and end the line in Johor.
The 350 km railway line, which both parties agreed to build in 2013, ran from a terminal station in Bandar Malaysia in central Kuala Lumpur to a terminal in Jurong East.
The HSR was slated to have seven stations and would have cut the travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes, compared to more than four hours by car and about five hours end-to-end by air.
Both countries signed a legally bilateral agreement on the project in Putrajaya in December 2016, witnessed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Singapore began work on the project, including appointing a company to design its HSR intra-structure and then launching an international joint tender with Malaysia for an asset company.
The project was subsequently suspended at the request of Malaysia, following a change in the Malaysian government following the general elections in May 2018.
The initial two-year extension in September 2018, which was to end in May 2020, was extended for the second and last time until December 31.
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