July Target For HSR MoU Signing, Says PM Najib

From Siti Hawa Othman LONDON, May 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said a memorandum of understanding (MOU), to facilitate the High-Speed Rail (HSR project, is expected to be signed in July by Malaysia and Singapore. He said the project had aroused excitement worldwide as it would cut travelling time from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to about 90 minutes. "We expect to sign the MOU with Singapore in July. That's the target,", he said at Bursa Malaysia's private breakfast session with fund managers at Marlborough House on Monday. Najib was referring to the many infrastructure projects that were earmarked for implementation by the private sector, including the Pan-Borneo Highway, in a move to boost the economy. Meanwhile, the proposed 350km HSR line will begin in Bandar Malaysia (the 486-acre township planned) and end at Jurong East in Singapore, reducing the current rail journey of eight hours. The prime minister had disclosed at the 'Invest Malaysia Kuala Lumpur' conference, held in April, that the MOU was expected to be signed in the middle of this year. It was reported that construction work on the HSR was scheduled to begin in 2017 and completed by 2022. --BERNAMA