By Syauqi Jamil
KUALA LUMPUR: Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali today hinted that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) series of discussion may come to an end soon.
Azmin posted on Twitter that Malaysia and Singapore are 'inching closer to a win-win deal', accompanied by a photograph of himself with Singapore Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
"Further talks with Minister Khaw. We are inching closer to a win-win deal on HSR, thanks to the hardwork of officials from both sides. #MEA" said the posting.
Khaw on the other hand had posted a similar matter on his Facebook page expressing his delights on the meeting with Azmin.
He also said that the joint decision between Malaysia and Singapore on the HSR should be able to be announced soon.
"Always delightful meeting Minister Azmin Ali, brainstorming ideas on how to further our bilateral relationship. There is so much we can do together, for mutual benefits. He is an inspiring leader. We should be able to announce our joint decisions on RTS (Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System) and HSR soon," Khaw posted.
It has been speculated that the 350km rail project, started by the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government would cease when the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had took over after winning GE14 in May.
However, Putrajaya had decided to defer the project rather than cancelling it altogether, albeit the project cost which was estimated to be at RM110 billion, along with other newly discovered ‘hidden costs’.
The amount varies significantly in compared to the previous estimation of between RM54 billion and RM74 billion as announced by the BN administration.
The project is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2026.
