Japan redoubles efforts to win high-speed rail project
JAPAN IS heightening its efforts in the bidding for the 350-kilometre Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail project following the reported lapse in the Bandar Malaysia deal, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
It said Japan’s Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii was expected to call on three Malaysian ministers involved in the project yesterday before meeting his Singaporean counterpart.
“We will push for a specific proposal involving financing, talent development and collaboration with local companies,” Ishii was reported telling reporters here.
The minister was in Kuala Lumpur to attend a high-speed rail symposium.
Nikkei said the Japanese public and private sectors were collaborating to pitch for the project estimated to cost 60 billion ringgit (Bt479 billion).
Japan – famous for its Shinkansen trains – and China are among the keen contenders for the project, with its main terminal in Kuala Lumpur located in Bandar Malaysia.
Japan takes pride in its system’s reliability, quality and cost-effective technology while China is banking on its experience in operating the world’s largest high-speed rail network.
Other parties expressing interest in the project include France and South Korea.
On Wednesday, the Finance Ministry announced that it had called off the deal to sell a 60-per-cent stake in Bandar Malaysia to a consortium comprising China Railway Engineering Corp (M) and local partner Iskandar Waterfront Holdings.
The 7.41 billion ringgit deal was inked in December 2015.
When contacted, the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur declined to comment, saying it was still trying to “understand the situation further”.
