KUALA LUMPUR: It remains to be seen if the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project will include the mega Forest City project in Johor.
In the current alignment, the train will depart from Iskandar Puteri and head towards the second causeway, before crossing an overhead bridge into Singapore.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said no decision had been made on the matter.
“It is up to the government to decide on the construction of an additional station.
“As it is, the addition of a station in Forest City has not been finalised.
“SPAD is still looking at it and if there is a need, we will make a recommendation for the government to decide,” he told reporters.
Last week, it was reported that there could be a change in the alignment of the HSR project due to a request from the private sector to divert the line to Forest City.
It is understood that Hong Kong-listed property developer Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd is courting the government to do so, and has made requests to the authorities and stakeholders.
At the same time, Azharuddin also noted that MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, which will offer tenders for the project at the end of the year, has received an overwhelming response during an industry briefing in Singapore and London.
MyHSR, incorporated in 2015, is wholly-owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated, and acts as the government’s project delivery vehicle for the HSR project and is responsible for its development and implementation.
The HSR, which has been touted as a game changer, is expected to contribute RM21 billion growth in gross domestic product (GDP) to Malaysia and Singapore and create 111,000 jobs by 2060.
The 350km bullet train line (335km in Malaysia) will cut travel time from KL to the Lion City to 90 minutes.
The Malaysian and Singaporean governments signed an agreement on Dec 13, last year to build the railway project.
The project is estimated to cost around RM50 billion to RM60 billion.