Singapore and Malaysia have finalised the settlement of compensation for the terminated HSR project. (Photo: EDELMAN) Singapore (VNA) - Malaysia has paid more than 102 million SGD (76.3million USD) in compensation to Singapore for the terminated KualaLumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, ministers from both countriessaid on March 29.
The payment has been made to Singapore for costs incurred for the developmentof the HSR project, and in relation to the extension of suspension of theproject, Singapore's Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung and Malaysia's Minister inthe Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said in a jointstatement.
"The two countries reached an amicable agreement on the amount following averification process by the Government of Malaysia. This amount represents afull and final settlement in relation to the termination of the bilateralagreement," the statement read.
"Both countries remain committed to maintaining good relations andfostering close cooperation for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the twocountries."
On January 1, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpartMuhyiddin Yassin issued a joint statement to announce the termination of theHSR project. Malaysia had allowed the bilateral agreement to lapse on thedeadline of December 31, 2020, after both sides could not agree to changes ithad proposed, The Straits Times reported.
The planned 350km rail line, which both sides agreed to build in 2013, was tohave run from a terminal station in Bandar Malaysia in downtown Kuala Lumpur toa terminal in Jurong East.
The HSR was slated to have seven stations, and would have cut travel timebetween Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes, compared with over four hoursby car and about five hours end-to-end by air.
Both countries signed a legally binding bilateralagreement on the project in December 2016, witnessed by PM Lee and thenMalaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Singapore commenced work on the project, including appointing a firm to designits HSR infrastructure and later calling an international joint tender withMalaysia for an assets company.
But the project was later suspended at Malaysia’s request, after a change inthe Malaysian government following the May 2018 General Election./.
VNA
