Mustapa: Malaysia expects compensation for HSR project’s termination to be below S$270 mln
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia holds the view that the amount of compensation needed to be paid to Singapore for the termination of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project is much lower than S$270 million, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
He was referring to Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung’s remark that Singapore spent more than S$270 million on the project, including the costs for consultancy services and manpower.
“The transport minister also said the compensation would not include land costs and we are made to understand that the Singapore government has acquired several pieces of land to
implement the project.
“Therefore, we are confident that the compensation cost will be much lower than S$270 million. Anyway, the matter has not been finalised and will be discussed soon,” he said during the Agenda Awani programme on Monday night.
On Jan 1, Malaysia and Singapore jointly announced the cancellation of the 350km rail line project after failing to reach an agreement on proposed changes by the Dec 31, 2020 deadline.
The bilateral agreement for the project’s development, signed with Singapore on Dec 13, 2016, was based on the aspiration for a closer economic integration between the two countries.
The construction of the HSR, proposed in 2010 as one of the Economic Transformation Programme’s initiatives, was deferred until May 2020 after Malaysia’s 14th General Election, following a review of several of the government’s investment commitments.
The two governments later postponed the project for a second time to Dec 31, 2020. — Bernama