Malaysian official says Singapore-KL high-speed rail may miss 2020 deadline: Report

Land Public Transport Commission Chairman Syed Hamid Albar. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
Land Public Transport Commission Chairman Syed Hamid Albar. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

The Singapore-Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail link may not be able to meet the 2020 deadline, a Malaysian official has said, according to Bloomberg.

Land Public Transport Commission Chairman Syed Hamid Albar said in an interview on Tuesday that the deadline will be missed even after using government land as much as possible to avoid property-acquisition disputes.

The project may take six to seven years to complete once construction starts by 2016, Mr Syed Hamid told Bloomberg.

The proposed rail line will reduce the 300-km journey over land to 90 minutes from about five hours.

According to Bloomberg, while Malaysia initially targeted 2020 for the line to be completed to coincide with its plan to be a developed nation, it recognises there may be "problems" with the original timeline, Mr Syed Hamid said.

There are more elements than just construction that the governments need to study, he said.

A Singapore Ministry of Transport spokesman said: ""As far as we know, we are still working towards project completion by 2020 as agreed by the two Prime Ministers.

"We have not received any indication from Malaysia that it intends to delay the project beyond 2020.

"Our feasibility studies are on track to be completed next year and bilateral discussions with Malaysia are ongoing."

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