KUALA LUMPUR: A Chinese consortium is in advanced talks with qualified Malaysian public-listed firms and government-linked companies for a future joint bid in the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail (HSR) international tender.
The seven-member consortium comprises China Railway International, China Investment Corp, the Export-Import Bank of China, China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC), China Communications Construction Co (CCCC), China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) and China Railway Signal & Communication Corp (CRSC).
China Railway chairman Yang Zhongmin said the group was ready to take on the development of the HSR project, which would be according to the Malaysia and Singapore governments’ policies in respect of budget, specification and timing.
“The building of the HSR link will depend on the criteria of the Malaysian government. This will include criteria on construction, development, financing, rolling stocks and associate developments. We hope the government agency will announce clear criteria during the floating of the tender document so that we can prepare efficiently,” he told Business Times in an interview, here, recently.
CRCC was the second-largest construction and engineering group in the world by revenue last year and is second-highest in accounts payable
by market capitalisation as of this year.
The Chinese firms have been actively lobbying to be a partner in the HSR link, but firms from France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, among others, have also expressed their interest in the project.
The China Railway-led consortium is one of 14 companies or groups that responded to a request for information for the project invited by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) of Malaysia and Land Transport Authority of Singapore jointly.
SPAD chairman Tan Sri Dr Syed Hamid Albar said recently China had been the main player in the supply of rolling stocks for Malaysia and now dominated 80 per cent of the market.
The rolling stocks are used for the Kuala Lumpur-Padang Besar electrified double-tracking line, the light rail transit and the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s ETS services.
“This is the first HSR project for Malaysia and Singapore and both are paying much attention on safety and reliable technology. We are confident that we are going to provide the best and most cost-effective solutions and services for the life cycle of the project to make sure it is a sustainable railway.
“Every member in our consortium will play an important role in the HSR implementation. We also have a base to cooperate with Malaysian firms. We have exchange of ideas regarding financing and technology. The other advantage is the supply of equipment and rolling stocks, engineering skills as well as operation and maintenance service.
“We are able to provide some investment and financing for the project on a business-to-business (commercial) basis. We have internally listed a few Malaysian companies with the potential to be our local partners in the next stage of the tendering process,” said Yang.
For the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project, the Chinese consortium plans to focus on localisation of products and services, rolling stocks and value for money infrastructure and development.
The benefits of the HSR network are numerous — reducing travel time to Singapore (from four or five hours to just 90 minutes), easing traffic congestion on roads and improving connectivity, among others.
Business Times reported recently that works on the proposed 350km HSR project might start in early 2018 at a likely cost of RM65 billion.