TOKYO: Malaysia and Singapore are on track to sign an agreement on the high-speed rail (HSR) project by early next month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.
Najib, who earlier held talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe here, said the international tender to supply the HSR trains could be called by the fourth quarter of next year.
Speaking to the media alongside Abe after their talks, Najib said most issues relating to the mammoth project have been “more or less” resolved.
At the same press conference, Abe made a strong pitch for the Malaysian and Singapore governments to consider using the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train system.
“We had a very good discussion on the high-speed railway programme between Malaysia and Singapore and I expressed strong expectation regarding the adoption of Japan’s bullet train technology,” he told reporters.
In his response, Najib said both nations were on track to sign the agreement to develop the HSR by early next month.
Najib said he and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would witness the signing as most of the issues have been more or less settled.
“There are several milestones in the implementation of this project but the most significant would be the international bidding process, which according to our plan, will be issued in the fourth quarter of 2017,” Najib said.
“I have reassured Prime Minister Abe that the process to arrive at the final decision (on the contract) would be done in an open, transparent and objective manner.”
Najib is on a three-day working visit to Japan at the invitation of Abe. Both leaders had a 40-minute talk on issues ranging from maritime security in the South China Sea to the Trans-Pacific Agreement (TPP) and North Korea.
Both leaders earlier witnessed the signing of the handover of two decommissioned Japan Coast Guard offshore patrol vessels to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
One vessel will be deployed to Kuantan and the other to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian officials said.
On the TPP, Najib said Malaysia was on the same page as Japan in that the agreement should come into force. He hoped US president-elect Donald Trump would recognise the TPP.