Najib, Lee reiterate 2020 completion date for High Speed Rail Link

 PUTRAJAYA: The proposed Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail Link will be completed as scheduled in 2020, the prime ministers of both countries assured.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said both governments were mindful of the fact that the project was ambitious and were working hard towards meeting the deadline.

 "I think it is too early for us to revise the timeline at this stage. We wanted it to be an ambitious target, so that we will be very focussed and both governments will be directed towards the target date of 2020," he said.

Najib said the first phase of the joint engineering study to develop possible alignment for the project and the proposal for the proposed Rail Transit System (RTS) connecting Singapore and Johor Bahru was completed.

"It will soon come a time for us to decide on the best option. We have 27 possible options to make RTS the most efficient and effective transport system that will benefit both nations," he added.

He said Malaysia would be making the decision fairly soon on the RTS location in Johor Baru.

Najib and his counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, attended a closed-door meeting prior to the press conference.

Lee said the officials of both countries had to work in a very focussed way in order to get the project done.

"2020 is a good target to work for. It will be challenging to achieve but I don't think we should relax the constraints yet," he said.

"I shared some of the considerations and the possibilities to the Malaysian prime minister. This is something that we are working on and we will decide this year or so," he said.

Lee was in Malaysia for a two-day annual Leader's Retreat, accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, and Singapore's senior officials.

The fifth retreat, held here, is a platform for both leaders to take stock of bilateral cooperation between both countries.

The last meeting took place in Singapore in February last year, which saw them agreeing on a high-speed rail link between the republic and Kuala Lumpur, which would significantly cut travel time between both countries to just 90 minutes. - Bernama