A multi-The billion dollar high-speed rail link between Singapore and Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, has been terminated.
According to a joint statement on Friday, the two countries were unable to reach an agreement on the project after Malaysia sought changes due to the economic impact of the pandemic. Malaysia will have to compensate Singapore for the costs already incurred, the city-state’s Ministry of Transportation said in a separate statement.
The announcement came just after a December 31 deadline for the second and final extension of the project’s suspension, which was first mooted a decade ago and was given the green light in 2013. In June, Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to the development, which has already sustained multiple suspensions, has been put back on hold amid a discussion of costs.
The fast, but descending 350-kilometer high-speed line would have reduced the travel time between the centers to about 90 minutes, instead of more than four hours by car. While flying between the two only takes about an hour, that’s much longer when airport check-in and security are taken into account. The service would start in 2026.
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“In light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Malaysian economy, the government of Malaysia had proposed several changes to the HSR project,” said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s joint statement. “Both governments had held several discussions regarding these changes and failed to reach an agreement.”
Local media in Malaysia reported in November that Malaysia was considering ending the line in the southern city of Johor Bahru rather than Singapore.
The government of Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who resigned in February, tried to cancel the project as the country struggled with debts and liabilities of more than 1 trillion ringgit ($ 249 billion), before settling for a delay and S $ 15 million. ($ 11.4 million) compensation payment to Singapore.
Mahathir once estimated that the project would cost Malaysia about 110 billion ringgits.
“Both countries will honor their respective commitments and will now proceed with the necessary actions arising from this termination of the HSR agreement,” the joint statement said.
– With the help of Tien Hin Chan and Hadi Azmi
(Updates with details from the joint statement in the fifth, last paragraph.)