Malaysia open to Singapore high speed rail project if private sector driven

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dec. 28, 2022. TO GO WITH
Malaysia Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook. (Zhu Wei/Xinhua via Getty Images)

By Kok Leong Chan

(Bloomberg) — Malaysia is open to proposals from the private sector for reviving the high-speed rail project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.

“We are open to proposals from the private sector as long as it is not funded by the government,” Loke said at an investor conference in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, adding the country hadn’t received any definite proposals yet.

NOTE: Singapore and Malaysia canceled the project in January 2021; the countries were unable to reach an agreement after Malaysia sought changes because of the pandemic’s economic impact

There’s no urgency to revive the project and Malaysia is “open to any mechanisms and models,” Loke said

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