No signs yet of HSR revival

BEIJING (April 29): While mega infrastructure projects like the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and Bandar Malaysia have been reinstated, there are no clear signs yet that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) will have a similar fate.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told reporters at a press briefing that no mention of the HSR project was made by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his five-day visit here that ended yesterday for China's Second Belt and Road Forum.

"No, not in the [leaders’ roundtable] dialogue," Dr Mahathir said when asked if Xi brought up the issue during his trip here yesterday.

It is understood that both the ECRL and the HSR form a significant part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as China intends to help develop connectivity in countries spread across Asia via railway infrastructure.

However, the HSR, under which was a station was initially planned in the Bandar Malaysia project, has been suspended since September last year and deferred until end-May 2020. 

It is worth noting that China Railway Engineering Corp was previously said to be keen on the massive real estate development in Bandar Malaysia, mainly because building the HSR was part of the plan. 

Earlier this month, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia was exploring proposals aimed at reducing the cost of the HSR and that it will be discussing this further with Singapore before the end of the suspension period.

The prime minister also stressed that the government’s priority was to reduce the country’s debt and to ensure an economically viable project that is able to generate an acceptable rate of return. — theedgemarkets.com

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