Berjaya Group draws companies eager to join its HSR consortium

KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Corporation Bhd (BCorp) has attracted interest from several companies seeking to join its consortium, which has submitted a proposal for the multibillion-dollar high-speed rail (HSR) project connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

BCorp founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun said that the consortium is exploring potential new partners following the withdrawal of Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) last month.

MRCB had initially been part of the group that prepared a non-binding conceptual proposal for the project.

While no final decision has been made, Tan emphasised the importance of selecting "good partners" amid strong interest from other companies.

"As a consortium, we have put in a proposal for the project. After MRCB's pullout, we may bring in a new partner, " Tan said during the launch of the Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen in Kuala Lumpur recently,

The consortium currently includes Berjaya Rail Sdn Bhd, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, and IJM Corporation Bhd, along with technical partners Deutsche Bahn AG, Hitachi Rail, and Hyundai Rotem Co, according to a December announcement.

Berjaya Rail's chairwoman is Tunku Tun Aminah Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, daughter of the King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johor, adding royal backing to the initiative. Sultan Ibrahim has been pushing for the revival of the HSR project.

The 350km rail line, first approved in 2013, aims to reduce travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes, compared to over four hours by car.

However, the project was shelved in 2020 due to cost disagreements and other issues.

Originally estimated at RM70 billion to RM80 billion as a government-funded initiative, the HSR will now require full private-sector funding to ensure financial viability, according to Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli.

"The determinant is very much the dollars and cents," Rafizi said during a forum in Kuala Lumpur, emphasising the government's focus on public utilities and goods.

In July 2024, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook revealed that Malaysia had shortlisted three out of seven consortiums that submitted proposals following a 2023 request for information.

In addition to the Berjaya Rail-led consortium, the other two shortlisted groups are reportedly YTL Construction Sdn Bhd-SIPP Rail Sdn Bhd and a Chinese consortium headed by state-owned China Railway Construction.

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