Singapore said yesterday that discussions on Malaysia's request to defer the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project are ongoing, amid reports that said the two countries have agreed to put the project on hold.
The Transport Ministry told The Straits Times: "The HSR Bilateral Agreement remains in force, unless Singapore and Malaysia mutually agree to vary it."
The Straits Times had earlier quoted a source familiar with the negotiations as saying that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan had communicated Singapore's agreement to the request for a deferment at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia's Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali.
The source said the two countries have agreed to put the HSR on hold and senior officials are now tasked with negotiating the terms of the deferment.
The agreement for the 350km rail line between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur was inked in 2016 and the project was originally slated for completion in 2026.
According to the source, both countries are studying how long the project should be shelved for, before returning to the discussion table.
The timeframe is important, as there are cost implications and compensation will have to be negotiated.
"Everyone is huddling at their own end and senior officials will come together soon, within the next one week," said the source.
It is understood that a deferment of either one or two years has been mooted.
The Thursday discussion was the second official meeting between the ministers in charge, with the first held on Aug 11.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had announced in May that his weeks-old government wanted to scrap the link. Malaysia later softened its stance, saying it would negotiate with Singapore and seek a deferment.
Datuk Seri Azmin said the second meeting saw "a thorough and detailed discussion. We are optimistic of a win-win resolution soon".
The Malaysian government has said it can ill-afford the estimated HSR cost of RM110 billion (S$36.7 billion), as it is saddled with RM1 trillion in national debt.
Mr Khaw said last month that Singapore has spent more than $250 million on the project and is likely to pour in another $40 million by the year end.
The high-speed rail is estimated to cut travel time between the two cities to 90 minutes, compared with more than four hours by car.
