High-speed rail: S'pore not told about delay

Singapore's Ministry of Transport said yesterday it has not been informed by Malaysian authorities that the upcoming high-speed rail link project between the two countries will bust the 2020 deadline.

Mr Syed Hamid Albar, chairman of Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission, said in an interview on Tuesday that the deadline will be missed even after using government land as much as possible to avoid property-acquisition disputes.

The project may take six to seven years to complete once construction starts by 2016, Mr Syed Hamid told Bloomberg.

This would effectively mean that the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail link may not be able to meet the 2020 deadline.

STUDIES ON TRACK

"As far as we know, we are still working towards project completion by 2020 as agreed by the two Prime Ministers," The Straits Times online quoted a Singapore transport ministry spokesman as saying.

"We have not received any indication from Malaysia that it intends to delay the project beyond 2020. Our feasibility studies are on track to be completed next year and bilateral discussions with Malaysia are ongoing."

The proposed rail line will reduce the 300km journey over land to 90 minutes from about five hours.

According to Bloomberg, while Malaysia initially targeted 2020 for the line to be completed to coincide with its plan to be a developed nation, it recognises there may be "problems" with the original timeline, Mr Syed Hamid said.

This article was first published on Oct 30, 2014.
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