KUALA LUMPUR: Seven local and international consortia, comprising 31 firms have submitted Request for Information (RFI) concept proposals for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project.
MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyHSR) chairman Datuk Seri Fauzi Abdul Rahman said the proposal was in response to the submission deadline which expired today, Jan 15.
"The findings from the RFI evaluation will be presented to the Ministry of Transport and the Cabinet for deliberation.
"If the response is positive, we will move on to the second phase with the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage to obtain detailed proposals from the selected consortia," he said in a statement today.
Earlier, Fauzi told the New Straits Times that none of the seven companies are from Japan.
Asked if any of the seven consortia are from China or Europe, Fauzi added that while China is on the list, some European companies might join forces with local companies through a consortium.
"If you ask me, China is indeed on the list, but Europe might join with some local companies through a consortium," he said.
Fauzi also explained the process involved once the corporation received the tender from the said companies.
He added that the corporation, as the project manager, was also being very cautious in the RFI process as it was the first time in Malaysia that such practices were being conducted.
This, he said, was among the major reasons why the review has no fixed timeline.
"There is no fixed timeline, this is the first time we are undertaking such an exercise in Malaysia.
"We want to be very careful and that is why when I came in, I mentioned that our first goal is to have no government involvement and this is solely a project in the private sector.
"I do not want to burden the government and if there is nothing (came out of the review), we will go for the second round (of RFI) and ask the companies about the commitment that they want from the government," he said.
MyHSR launched the RFI in July 2023 as the Malaysian government explores reactivating the project to construct a 350-km dedicated high-speed line between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, which was cancelled in 2021, under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The government is expected to shortlist candidates within several months and start full-fledged negotiations with the Singaporean government at the earliest later this year.
It was reported that the rail project, which would allow a shorter travel time of 90 minutes between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, will include seven stations in Malaysia, namely, Bandar Malaysia, Sepang-Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri; as well as Jurong East in Singapore.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government is planning to revive the HSR project with a substantial cost reduction.