SINGAPORE - An agreement on the upcoming High Speed Rail (HSR) project linking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur will probably be signed next month.

The Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Monday (Nov 14) that "Singapore and Malaysia are working towards signing the bilateral agreement'' on the project at the Leaders' Retreat on Dec 5.

Malaysian daily The New Straits Times reported on the same day that the signing would be witnessed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at the retreat, to be held in Johor.

A memorandum of understanding for the HSR project was signed in July by Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan. It was witnessed by the prime ministers of the two countries.

The project, targeted to be completed by 2026, is expected to cut travelling time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes.