The 330-km long HSR line will begin in Kuala Lumpur and end in Jurong East.
The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) was first mooted in the late 90s, but the project was shelved due to high costs. Plans for a HSR system were reignited in 2010, with negotiations continuing until 2013 before the project was made official.
Construction work was expected to commence in the third quarter of 2015, but was postponed to 2017 as negotiations with Chinese companies have dragged on. With agreements expected to be signed this year, South Korea has decided to join the fight for this big budget project.
South Korea believes it has an advantage over China in terms of cost and project planning, and is willing to share technology with Malaysia.
Last year, all the top construction companies in Korea formed a consortium to bid for the project, including Hyundai Rotem Company, Korea Land & Housing Corp, Korea Railroad Corp and Korea Rail Network Authority.
With experience in building HSR lines, CEO of Korea Rail Network Authority, Kang Yeong Il, is confident that they can secure the project.
South Korea is fourth behind Japan, France and Germany in HSR technologies, and it believes the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project is similar to the Korean model. The country’s first bullet trains were rolled out in 2010.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia-Singapore line will be approximately 330–km long and begins in Kuala Lumpur and ends in Jurong East in Singapore. The cost to build the line is expected to be around RM70 billion.
It is understood that the project is expected to be delayed beyond 2022.
Diane Foo, Senior Content Specialist at PropertyGuru Malaysia, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories, email diane@propertyguru.com.my
