The bilateral agreement deadline for the much delayed Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project has been extended by three months to July 31.
Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said yesterday that the extension was due to impact from the coronavirus pandemic.
"Given the current movement control order in Malaysia and Singapore's circuit breaker, bilateral discussions on the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link project have been impacted.
"I had discussed the status of the bilateral agreement... with my counterpart, Honourable Minister Khaw Boon Wan. We have come to a mutual agreement to extend the bilateral discussions to 31 July."
He added that both governments are confident that the talks, via videoconferencing if necessary, can be concluded within this period so that the project can resume.
Mr Khaw, Singapore's Transport Minister, said in a Facebook post yesterday that there have been discussions on Malaysia's proposed changes to the project since last month but the talks have been affected by several events, including the change of government in Malaysia and now, the pandemic.
"At Malaysia's request, we have agreed to further extend the suspension, for a third and final time, to July 31," he added. "As this is a final extension, I have asked our teams to work immediately with their Malaysian counterparts to wrap up the discussions speedily."
The Transport Ministry noted: "Like Malaysia, we are optimistic that the discussions... can be concluded within three months."
The key pacts up for discussion are the RTS Link Bilateral Agreement between the two governments and the joint venture agreement between Singapore's SMRT and Prasarana Malaysia, the country's national rail operator, to constitute a joint venture operating company.
There is also a concession agreement for the governments to appoint this joint venture firm as the RTS Link operator.
This is the third extension of the suspension at Malaysia's request. The initial target date for project completion was by Dec 31, 2024.
The RTS will be the second rail link between the two countries after the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) Tebrau Shuttle Service.
However, the KTM shuttle train service will have to cease operating within six months after the RTS becomes operational.
Malaysia and Singapore signed a deal in May last year to suspend the RTS project until Sept 30, with Malaysia reimbursing the Republic $600,000 for abortive costs.
Malaysia later requested an extension of another month until Oct 31 and Singapore agreed.
Malaysia then decided to proceed with the construction, with amendments to the scope and structure of the project proposed to cut costs by 36 per cent.
The legally binding agreement to build the RTS Link, which would connect Woodlands North station on Singapore's Thomson-East Coast MRT line to Bukit Chagar, was signed in January 2018.
