Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project formally terminated

Malaysia has paid about $102.8m to Singapore for incurred costs.

The Malaysian government has given about $102.8m to Singapore as compensation for the costs incurred over the recent cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project.

Singapore and Malaysia have finalised the settlement of compensation for the terminated project, Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung and Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said in a joint statement on Monday.

“Both countries remain committed to maintaining good relations and fostering close cooperation for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries,” the ministers said.

In a Facebook post, Ong added that the two countries were able to close the deal amicably and without affecting their bilateral relations.

“Looking ahead, there are many areas that we have opportunities to cooperate on. These include the issues Minister Vivian Balakrishnan discussed with leaders in Malaysia last week, such as the restoration of some air travel, which the Ministry of Transport (MOT) will be very involved in,” Ong said.

The HSR project lapsed on 31 December, 2020, and was subsequently suspended.

Ong disclosed that Singapore has already spent more than $270m on the project, including some abortive costs. An MOT spokesperson noted that the amount spent also included land acquisition costs.

“Because (the) Singapore government can recover value from the land we acquired, we are not seeking compensation for it,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also clarified the compensation amount given by Malaysia, stating that the bulk of it was computed and determined when Singapore acceded to the former’s request to suspend the project, and was stipulated in the HSR agreements.