KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Malaysia is seeking concept proposals from local and international firms and consortiums to reactivate its Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (KL-SG HSR) project, reported Xinhua.
MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyHSR Corp), a company owned by the Malaysian government, said in a statement on Tuesday that following a positive response to its initial input gathering in March, the firm is embarking on a full-fledged request for information (RFI) to enable the private sector to submit concept proposals to develop and operate the KL-SG HSR project via a public-private partnership model.
It said the RFI exercise marks the Malaysian government’s initiative to reactivate the KL-SG HSR project via new funding mechanisms and implementation models in efforts to further improve the rail transport infrastructure and invigorate the national economy.
The cross-border HSR project was terminated in January 2021 due to Malaysia and Singapore being unable to reach an agreement.
The 350-km high-speed railway, which includes 335 km within Malaysia and 15 km in Singapore, had been scheduled to be completed by 2026, cutting travel time between Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes.
MyHSR Corp had engaged with selected private companies during the initial information-gathering stage to understand the level of interest, capabilities and resource requirements needed to make this project sustainable.
The exercise will allow the Malaysian government to assess the industry’s interest and ability to fully fund the project while evaluating their capabilities in developing this major infrastructure project by looking into areas, such as technical specifications, project costing, commercial and business models, as well as consortium and governance framework.
“MyHSR Corp remains committed to supporting the government to identify the most effective solution to revive the KL-SG HSR project. Globally, developments of HSR have proven to be growth engines, bringing about catalytic development and growth as well as multiplier effects that benefit all walks of life,” said Mohd Nur Ismal, CEO of MyHSR Corp.
He encouraged firms and consortiums with relevant experience to participate in this exercise and looked forward to receiving strong interest and high-quality proposals that would serve as an important reference for the government’s decision on the best way forward for the project.
