SINGAPORE - Singapore's Transport Ministry, responding to reports that the high-speed rail project between the the Republic and Kuala Lumpur may be delayed, said that it will discuss with Malaysia the country's assessment that the project could stretch beyond the 2020 deadline.

In an interview with Bloomberg news service on Tuesday (Oct 28), Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission chairman Syed Hamid Albar had said the project may take six to seven years to complete once construction starts by 2016.

This would mean a delay of two to three years beyond the 2020 completion date announced last year by the leaders of both countries.

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

Mr Syed Hamid had said that while Malaysia initially targeted 2020 for the line to be completed, it recognised that there may be problems with the original timeline.

There were more elements than just construction that the governments needed to study, he noted.