During the press conference after the bilateral agreement signing between Malaysia and Singapore for the JB-Singapore Rapid Transit System, a question was raised by the press on the criteria that both countries would use to choose the winning bidder for the Assets Company for the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project.
According to a Bernama report, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said it would be a comprehensive and multi-dimensional assessment, and would not only take into account technical and cost, but also the longevity of the project. This means its life cycle cost, maintenance and the maximisation of local content.
Since both countries called for a joint tender for the Assets Company last month, there has been a strong international interest, according to Najib. The most recent country to reveal its interest for the project is Japan with the Shinkansen (bullet train), with China, South Korea and several European countries posing as competition. The KL-SG HSR is said to be South East Asia’s largest ever infrastructure project.
As for the procurement, Najib said it would be done in a fair, open and transparent manner. “So that, people will see HSR really brings real benefit, tangible benefit even during construction period,” he said.
“It’s (the construction) about 10 years, but as you know, (given) the size of this project, the complexity of this project, 10 years is a relatively short period of time, which means we have to work very closely together. We are looking forward to its implementation according to schedule and we think that we will be able to deliver it according to the timeline we’ve committed to, between the two sides,” said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in December 2016 during the bilateral agreement signing for the KL-SG HSR.
Bids for the HSR project must be submitted by the middle of this year, with the contract expected to be awarded by the end of this year. The companies involved in the project, MyHSR Corporation in Malaysia and HSR Pte Ltd in Singapore announced last December that they would start accepting bids for a railway “assets company” responsible for designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining all rail assets. Second finance minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani reportedly said that the project will cost between RM50 billion and RM60 billion.
The 350 km line, which will incorporate eight stations (see the themes and architectural concepts here), is intended to cut the travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes, and is expected to stimulate the economies of several localities along the route.
The seven KL-SG HSR stations in Malaysia are Bandar Malaysia, Bangi-Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri. Construction of the high-speed rail link is set to begin in 2018, with completion in 2025 and operations scheduled to start in 2026. Najib said that both sides were committed to the deadline.
GALLERY: Architectural concept designs of all Malaysian stations
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Kudos to both govs! Public transport > all
SG-KL High Speed Rail gonna be a game-changer for Asia regional transports. Make Singapore & Malaysia great again!
Both alredi great. So make MY & SG lagi greater again!
it is all about business. they want business. thats why they show interest. not because of Malaysia but because of money. and will make into the company’s track record as well.
Of course la strong international interest..they only want project and money.They don’t care about where the money come from,how you gonna make it profitable or capital return.Once completed,bye bye.. pay instalment until 60 years if arrears they ask you to pawn your properties.
No worries. MY & SG sama sama tanggung so surely both countries will wanna make sure it works them.
Sorry I read beginning 2018. It is January now and we don’t even know who got the tender.
Havent been selected yet. Tender only out in Oct/Nov 2017.
“As for the procurement, Najib said it would be done in a fair, open and transparent manner. “So that, people will see HSR really brings real benefit, tangible benefit even during construction period,” he said.”
Oh come on dont be shy, we all know China will win the ‘open’ tender as it has the most superior system which includes advance under-table financial support and state of the art political ‘friendship’.
May the 中国南车 banner fly strong across 5 states of Malaysia and never give in to low quality Jepunis and Kimchi(With some Baguette dipping) tech.
Also isnt the German supposed to submit their Siemens ICE bid?
MY uses China trains. SG oso uses China trains. So i guess all those ‘superior’ benefits flows to both countries.
Anyways, i belip Siemens prefer to be vendor for control & signalling systems instead. Higher chance of winning there, moreso if both govs go for CHR with Siemens tech.
Wonder how much we would save if we use much simpler and practical architectural design instead of those fancy one? After all it is just train station. Japan shinkansen station is a good model to follow imho.
Unlike JR line, shinkansen stations r very beautiful in comparison (ie Karuizawa & Sakudaira). So modeling after nippon shinkansen, our HSR shud have even more beautiful stations, no?
Beautiful yes, fancy no. You dont see any shinkansen station as extravagant as ours. Doesnt mean ours should be ugly thou.
Fine line between beauty and extravagant. As long they can make the building fit for use, its not extravagant at all.
Why there is no stop @ Segamat?
It will be good if there’s Segamat Station.
Do you even know where is Segamat on the map?
Becoz the HSR line does not go through Segamat.
Kudos to both government. We need to choose the consortium which can offer us a greater benefit, be it from engineering, maintenance, civilian job know-how besides employing local talents. It is of no purpose if all contracts are given to overseas companies. Local engineers and companies need be honed & one day they will build a new high speed line from KL to Penang.
Japan will provide best tech and training so they can operate by themselves on day one..Best bidder of all