Work packages for HSR project set on 2017

PETALING JAYA (Sept 3): Malaysia plans to submit work packages for the multi-billion-ringgit Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-high-speed rail (HSR) project by 2017 at the earliest, reported the digitaledge DAILY today.

“The project is estimated to be completed by 2022, and if we do the calculation backwards, the work packages should be awarded by 2017,” Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) chief development officer Dr Prodyutt Dutt said on the sidelines of the Rail Business Asia 2015 yesterday.

“There are a lot of preliminary works that have to be sorted out by both Malaysia and Singapore governments such as the preparation of tender documents that are currently in progress,” Prodyutt noted after the HSR project’s completion date was stretched to 2022 instead of 2020.

Prodyutt added that there will be a discussion with the Singapore government to determine the exact date of the HSR project award.

“The awarding will be done on an open tender basis,” said Prodyutt.

Meanwhile, the estimated cost of the project can only be determined after the tenders are done and it will also be dependent on the value of the ringgit, added Prodyutt.

The Kuala-Lumpur-Singapore HSR project was announced in 2010 and will reduce travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes.