On 31 Dec 2020, the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project between Singapore and Malaysia was cancelled by the latter, following delays.
Yesterday (29 Mar), both governments said in a joint statement that they have settled the amount to be compensated by Malaysia to Singapore.
The exact amount to be paid is SGD102,815,576.00 (RM320,270,519.24) — that’s $102.8 million.
With this, the amicable agreement means the HSR is dead for good, but doesn’t rule out future projects.
The compensation amount doesn’t include land acquisition costs as Singapore can recoup value from it, according to an MOT spokesperson.
The Bilateral Agreement on the HSR project was terminated on 31 Dec 2020.
This comes after then-Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad ordered the scrapping of the project in May 2018 as “it’s not beneficial” to Malaysia. He also cited high costs as a reason.
Singapore spent about $270 million on the project before the cancellation.
The reimbursement included the following:
However, land acquisition costs weren’t included as Singapore can still use the land for other purposes to recoup value.
One example MOT cited was the Integrated Train Testing Centre, sited at the former Raffles Country Club.
While the HSR project was aborted, neither country have ruled out future projects which will entail cooperation.
In the joint statement, both countries said they remain committed to maintaining their good relations and cooperating for the mutual benefit of peoples in both countries.
Ties are still close and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan had visited Malaysia last week.
Perhaps we may see an even better project soon. Fingers crossed.
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Featured image adapted from Deposit Photos.
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