KUALA LUMPUR – MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd has submitted a preliminary report on the revival of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project to the Transport Ministry.
Its minister, Anthony Loke, however, said the ministry had not finalised the evaluation report.
“(The) HSR (project) is being evaluated by MyHSR. It has submitted a preliminary report to the ministry.
“Once we finalise at the ministry level, it will be brought to the prime minister and cabinet minister to decide on the way forward,” he told the Dewan Rakyat this morning.
He was responding to a supplementary question posed by Khairul Nizam Khirudin (Jerantut-PN), who asked about the status of the HSR project.
Loke reiterated the government’s stand on the project, saying that it has to be funded by the private sector.
“The government remains firm in its stance that it will not fund the project; rather, it must be funded by the private sector.
“But we will assess whether the project will be fully funded by the private sector and evaluate its financial implications,” he added.
The government will make a decision based on the proposal that offers the best solution with minimal financial impact on the government, Loke said.
In January, the Transport Ministry said MyHSR was evaluating the seven concept proposals received from firms and consortiums interested in the project, which was expected to take two months to complete.
It was reported that MyHSR Corp had been given the responsibility to carry out the request-for-information process, which ended on January 15.
On January 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore jointly announced the termination of the HSR project as both countries failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia before the project agreement lapsed on December 31, 2020.
The revival of the HSR project followed a nearly three-year hiatus.
Malaysia paid its Singapore counterpart RM320.27 million for costs incurred in relation to the project after its termination.
It has been reported that several major players in the rail industry are engaged in discussions with potential partners for participation.
They comprise MMC Corporation Bhd, controlled by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary; WCT Holdings Bhd, under the control of Tan Sri Desmond Lim; YTL Group; Berjaya Group, controlled by Tan Sri Vincent Tan; and Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd, as stated in the report. – March 14, 2024