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SINGAPORE: The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project will be suspended after the HSR agreement expired on December 31, 2020, the prime ministers of both countries said in a joint statement on Friday morning (1 from January).
Both Singapore and Malaysia will now proceed with “necessary actions”.
In the statement, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin said: “The Government of Malaysia and the Government of Singapore wish to provide an update on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore SSR Project. in view of the expiration of the suspension period of the HSR Project on December 31, 2020.
“In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Malaysian economy, the Government of Malaysia had proposed several changes to the HSR Project. Both Governments had held various discussions regarding these changes and had not been able to reach a an agreement. Therefore, the HSR Agreement had expired on December 31, 2020, “said the leaders.
“Both countries will comply with their respective obligations and will now proceed with the necessary actions, resulting from this 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.”
In a statement released on Friday morning, the Singapore Ministry of Transport said the two prime ministers had met in a video conference on December 2 to review the status of the project, including changes proposed by the Malaysian government.
“Since then, Malaysia has allowed the HSR Bilateral Agreement to be terminated and has to compensate Singapore for costs already incurred by Singapore to fulfill its obligations under the HSR BA in accordance with the parties’ agreement,” MOT said.
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Before the announcement, there have been reports from the Malaysian media that Putrajaya could continue the project without Singapore’s involvement. Therefore, the line, which starts in Kuala Lumpur, could end in Johor in Malaysia instead of Jurong East in Singapore.
In September 2018, both parties agreed to postpone the construction of the HSR until the end of May this year. Malaysia had to pay Singapore S $ 15 million for the costs incurred to suspend the project.
Malaysia then requested an additional seven-month extension to allow both parties to discuss and evaluate Malaysia’s proposed changes to the project.
Khaw Boon Wan, who was Singapore’s then Transport Minister, agreed to the “final extension of the suspension period” until December 31.
The proposed HSR line aimed to reduce travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to about 90 minutes by train, from the current 11 hours on existing train services.
