A many-The billion-dollar high-speed rail link between Singapore and the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, has been completed.
The two countries failed to reach an agreement on the project after Malaysia sought change due to the economic impact of the pandemic, according to a joint statement on Friday. Malaysia will have to compensate Singapore for the costs already incurred, the city-state transport ministry 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 discussed a decade ago and received the green light in 2013. In June, South Asia’s neighbors -East agreed to put development, which has already endured several suspensions, was suspended again amid a discussion on costs.
The 350-kilometer (218-mile) high-speed rail connection, again, would have reduced travel time between centers to about 90 minutes compared to more than four hours by car. Although the flight between the two only takes about an hour, this is much longer after check-in at the airport and security is taken into account. The service was to begin in 2026.
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“Given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Malaysian economy, the Malaysian government has proposed several changes to the HSR project,” according to the joint statement of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “Both governments have had several discussions about these changes and have failed to reach an agreement.”
Local media in Malaysia reported in November that Malaysia was considering ending the line in its southern city of Johor Bahru, rather than in Singapore.
The administration of former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who resigned in February, tried to cancel the project as the country faced debts and debts worth more than 1 trillion ringgit ($ 249 billion) before set for a postponement and $ 15 million. ($ 11.4 million) compensation fee to Singapore.
Mahathir had estimated at one point that the project would cost Malaysia about 110 billion ringgit.
“Both countries will meet their obligations and will now take the necessary action, resulting from the termination of the HSR Agreement,” the joint statement said.
– With the assistance of Tien Hin Chan and Hadi Azmi
(Updates with details of the joint statement in the fifth, last paragraph.)