ALOR SETAR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The tender for the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore is expected to be called within a year, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said the ministry was looking forward to the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the HSR on Tuesday (July 19).

"Once the signing is done, the authorities will prepare the tender documents. The tender will be called within a year's time.

"Many international companies have shown interest in the project and we welcome that. This is a very important and prestigious project because it is the first in Asean.

"We should be able to get more details on Tuesday. The Transport Ministry is giving its full support to the project," he added.

Mr Liow, who is also MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) president, was speaking to reporters after launching the party's Jom Gerak, Teguh Bersama (Let's Move: Stronger Together) Carnival at SMJK Keat Hwa on Friday.

Liow said the project would bring economic development to both Malaysia and Singapore.

Among the areas that will step up are the stops at Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri.

He said there would be a lot of transit-oriented development projects to help develop cities and towns along the rail link.

"We want them to link up with our urban transportation such as LRT and MRT as part of the transformation programme," he said.

The proposed 350km-long double-track HSR line will also have one terminus in the new township of Bandar Malaysia, at the edge of Kuala Lumpur, with the other in Jurong East in Singapore.

The fast-speed train link will cut travelling time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes, compared with more than four hours by car.

It was previously reported that the project has been estimated to cost between RM60 billion (S$20.3 billion) and RM65 billion.