By SHAREN KAUR - July 12, 2023, Published in New Straits Times, Business Section
KUALA LUMPUR: The multi-billion ringgit Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail (KL-Singapore HSR) project, which was terminated in January 2021, has been revived.
MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Seri Fauzi Abdul Rahman said the government had decided that both Malaysia and Singapore would rejuvenate the project first mooted 22 years ago by YTL Group.
"The HSR is a trend. Indonesia has it. They are running at 350km per hour. The government has decided that both the countries will be involved. There are glitches here and there with Singapore but these are all normal hazards.
"There will be no cost to the government as it would be a public-private partnership," Fauzi said during a "Teh Tarik" session with the media today.
MyHSR Corp chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal said the HSR is critical for the integration of economic and city planning for wider economic growth.
"By having the HSR in the northern and southern corridors, this could create opportunities and spread growth. Countries around us like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam have woken up to this and started to do things on their own.
"Imagine what will happen to us. Those countries will grow by leaps and bounds. If these countries become successful, who is going to come and invest here?" he asked.
There are 19 countries which have HSR in operations (56,0119 km) or under construction (31,857km), Nur Ismal said.
"Out of this 19, seven are developing countries and that is why they are embarking on this HSR project. Some have lower par capita income than Malaysia but they have a vision on how they want to move things," he added.
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