Ex-Prasarana CEO says reviving KL-Singapore HSR now challenging due to economic climate
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — The proposed revival of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project will be challenging due to the current economy, former Prasarana Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Ridza Abdoh Salleh told news portal Free Malaysia Today today.
Ridza said that Malaysia is not ready to carry out the proposed 350km HSR link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, whether the project is funded publicly or funded.
“It is Singapore, rather than Malaysia and Johor, which stands to gain the lion’s share of the project’s economic benefits, as the city-state is a regional hub for various sectors.
“Since a major portion of the project is in Malaysia, almost 90 per cent of the cost will have to be borne by Malaysia, but the economic advantages will significantly benefit Singapore,” Ridza was quoted as saying.
He was commenting on the recent call by Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar for the HSR project to be restarted.
Ridza said the revival of the HSR project will ultimately be costlier than any light rail or mass transit projects, thus possibly affecting the project’s financial viability.
He said it is better for Malaysia to focus onreducing its national debt, which currently stands at RM1.5 trillion.
He said the national debt could be reduced to a more acceptable level of about RM800 billion.
Sultan Ibrahim, who is also the incoming Yang di-Pertuan Agong, had last week called for the HSR project to be revived and realigned to run through Forest City, a massive luxury development project in Johor that had targeted nationals from China.
The federal government said on March 8 that it is open to reviving the HSR, but will not fund the project that was last estimated to cost more than RM100 billion.
On July 12, it was reported that the HSR’s project implementation would be privately funded by MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd.
Malaysia and Singapore first signed an agreement for the HSR in 2016 that would see trains running at speeds in excess of 300km/h, enabling travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore within 90 minutes.
The project was scheduled to complete in 2026, and expected to provide three main services: direct travel between Malaysia and Singapore within 90 minutes; domestic service in Malaysia; and shuttle service from Iskandar Puteri in Johor to Singapore.
The project was then suspended by the Pakatan Harapan government in September 2018, but revived just three months later with adjustments to costs.
Malaysia and Singapore announced the termination of the HSR project on January 1, 2021, as the two countries failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia before the project agreement expired on December 31, 2020.
Malaysia paid S$102.8 million (RM320.27 million) in compensation to Singapore for costs incurred for the development of the project and related to the extension of its suspension.
