Japan Backs Out of Malaysia-Singapore High-speed Rail Project

ANTARA

Several Japanese companies are backing out of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project, government and company sources said Thursday.

A number of companies, including East Japan Railway Co. had hoped to apply the Shinkansen high-speed rail system to the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore rail project.

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However, they withdrew as the project was deemed too risky due to lack of financial support from the Malaysian government.

The Japanese company’s withdrawal provides an opportunity for its Chinese competitors to strengthen their infrastructure development expansion in Southeast Asia.

The Chinese companies have just completed the construction of fast trains in Indonesia in 2023 and they are building the same project in Thailand.

Next Monday is the deadline to submit bids for the high-speed rail project. The Malaysian government has started accepting bids since July 2023.

The estimated cost of the high-speed rail project is 100 billion ringgit (about Rp334.94 trillion), but the Malaysian government intends to raise funds from the private sector, rather than from the budget or government debt guarantees.

While the Japanese company withdrew from the project, several local companies intend to team up with Chinese and European companies to submit bids.

The Malaysian government will determine the preferred candidate in the next few months, and will begin negotiations with the Singapore government later this year.

The governments of Singapore and Malaysia in 2013 reached a basic understanding to work on a high-speed rail project.

The deal involves the construction of a 350-kilometer high-speed rail line that will cut travel time from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to 90 minutes, from the previous four hours by car.

East Japan Railway and trading company Sumitomo Corporation expressed interest in the project.

In 2015, Japanese Transportation Minister Keiichi Ishii introduced the Shinkansen system to the Malaysian government during a visit to Kuala Lumpur.

Later, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, reopened the high-speed rail project.

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