Najib: KL-Singapore high-speed rail deal to be inked next week

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has described the progress of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project as "well and good".

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said that Singapore had requested for a bit of time as the country required the approval from its president.

"(Singapore) Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called me and asked for a little bit of time to brief their president," he told reporters after launching the 10th anniversary of Iskandar Malaysia at Educity here Tuesday.

Najib said under the Singapore Constitution, the guarantee of such project would need the approval from the president.

"We will be signing the agreement next week, I think. He (Lee) is coming to Kuala Lumpur," he added.

Both countries have been discussing the agreement for more than a year.

Recently, Najib said Malaysia and Singapore were on track to sign an agreement on the HSR project by early December and the international tender to supply the HSR trains could be called by the fourth quarter of next year.

Malaysia and Singapore inked the historic HSR agreement on July 19, 2016, signifying that in the next 10 years, travellers will be able to reach the end destination between the two cities in just 90 minutes.

The line is expected to consist of eight stations, namely Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat, Iskandar Puteri and Singapore.  - Bernama