Thailand
Singapore, Malaysia stress ‘fair’ process for high-speed rail
SINGAPORE: The governments of Singapore and Malaysia stressed on Wednesday that the procurement process for a high-speed rail project linking the wealthy island city state with Kuala Lumpur will be “open, fair and transparent”.
In announcing the launch of a joint tender for the 350-kilometre railway, the two governments’ vehicles for the project — Malaysia’s MyHSR Corp and Singapore’s SG HSR — said they are seeking a company that will be responsible for “designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining all rail assets”.
The state-owned companies said they welcome all interested companies, whether based in Malaysia, Singapore or elsewhere.
“All tender submissions will be evaluated for their technical solution, commercial robustness, financial sustainability and price,” they added.
Bidders will have until June 29, 2018, to submit their proposals for the construction of the double-track line that, with a design speed of 350kph, would reduce travelling time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to just 90 minutes from about four hours by car now when completed in 2026.
A qualified bidder will be selected by the end of next year.
The launch of the tender follows an agreement signed between the two governments in December 2016.
The project is expected to attract fierce competition from bidders all over the world, including China and Japan, which has expressed strong interest in the project and made a pitch for its shinkansen bullet train.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/world/1382519/singapore-malaysia-stress-fair-process-for-high-speed-rail