SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has appointed engineering design firm Aecom Singapore to conduct an advanced engineering study for the Singapore stretch of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR).

Aecom will provide architectural, civil, electrical, mechanical and other design services required for the HSR's Jurong East terminus, tunnels, and the bridge across the Straits of Johor, the LTA said in a statement Wednesday.

The LTA said Aecom was selected "through a highly-competitive tender process".

"They bring extensive experience in HSR projects internationally, including in the planning and design of the Beijing South HSR Station in China, the High Speed 2 railway in the United Kingdom, and the West Kowloon Terminus for the Express Rail Link in Hong Kong," the LTA noted.

Aecom Singapore has a strong track record in Singapore as well, having worked with LTA to design the Circle Line, Downtown Line, Thomson-East Coast Line, and the Tuas West Extension.

The Los Angeles-headquartered firm, which says it employs 87,000 people in 150 countries, is also carrying out an engineering consultancy study for the Rapid Transit System Link between Singapore and Johor Bahru. The RTS link was originally slated to be completed in 2018. This was pushed to 2019 when Singapore decided to lengthen the Thomson-East Coast Line.

Since then, there had been little progress reported on the 4-5km extension, with Singapore saying it was waiting for Johor to decide on the location of its terminal station.

The 350km KL-Singapore HSR is slated to be completed in 2026.