EIA report for High Speed Rail approved

(from left) I-Berhad executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong, SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, The Star Media Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, and SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal during the launch of School Buzz at i-City Shah Alam yesterday. - Art Chen / The Star. 10 FEB 2015.

PETALING JAYA: The environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) has been approved by the Department of Environment (DoE).

MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd said the report was approved subject to conditions during the construction and operational phases of the HSR project.

Its chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal said the approval was a significant development for the project.

“We have developed the necessary measures to address and minimise the potential impacts throughout the life cycle of the project, which consists of pre-construction, during construction, and operations,” he said.

The EIA report was submitted to the DoE on Dec 13 last year and was displayed for a month from Dec 27 to Jan 25 for public feedback and review.

The final report submitted to the DoE consolidated the feedback from all stakeholders, including the public, government agencies and the DoE.

The 350km HSR is a strategic project between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments to reduce land travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes.

It is expected to enhance business linkages and bring the people of both countries closer together.

The iconic project includes domestic services within Malaysia that would improve intercity connectivity and promote economic agglomeration under the Socio-economic Development Programme intended to benefit local communities along the corridor.

The governments of both countries signed a bilateral agreement on Dec 13, 2016, which captured the key points of the agreement on the project.

These included the technical parameters, commercial model, Customs, immigration and quarantine clearance, safety and security matters, regulatory framework and project management approach.

Eight stations were planned for the HSR, namely Bandar Malaysia, Sepang-Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri in Malaysia and Jurong East in Singapore, with operations of the HSR service between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore targeted for commencement by Dec 31, 2026.