PETALING JAYA: The government must step up its involvement in the development of the Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR), says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The former transport minister said this is due to the government’s current plan to have the project funded entirely by the private sector being unrealistic.
“The HSR’s price has now increased to RM120bil as there is still uncertainty whether the project can proceed. This is because a similar project, the Eurostar London-Paris HSR, took 20 years before it started generating profits," said Dr Wee.
“As such, there are doubts that any private enterprise will be able to bear the cost of its construction and gestation period alone without government assistance,” he added in a Facebook post on Thursday (Sep 5).
Dr Wee also called for the government to consider taking back the reins of the HSR project to be built alongside its existing RM140bil GDV Bandar Malaysia project, which is planned to be the HSR’s terminus station.
The MCA president said it would be more beneficial to allow a single consortium to develop both the HSR and Bandar Malaysia project as a package project instead of being done in silos.
“If it is done properly then the profits of the Bandar Malaysia project can easily pay for the entire or a substantial cost of the HSR project. The government should also consider involving the Singapore government and its GLCs as a project partner as per the original plan," he said.
“This would also ensure greater viability for the Bandar Malaysia project and encourage more Singapore companies to move part of their operations to the site,” added Dr Wee.
The HSR project aims to slash travel time between Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore from around four hours by road to just 90 minutes by rail.
Originally scheduled to open in 2026 but cancelled in January 2021, the project was revived last year with the Malaysian government evaluating fresh concept proposals.
Earlier in July, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the government would make a final decision by the end of this year on whether to proceed with the HSR project after weighing proposals from a narrowing list of private consortiums.
