Johor, Syed Mokhtar eyeing multi-billion KL-Singapore high-speed rail

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 — The Johor state government and logistics tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary will compete for a new multi-billion ringgit high-speed train project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, The Edge Financial Daily reported today.

According to The Edge, YTL Corp Bhd and Hartasuma Sdn Bhd have also been named as those contending for the project said to be worth RM20 billion to RM30 billion.

Syed Mokhtar is said to be one of the parties eyeing the high-speed rail project.

Hartasuma, which was co-founded by former PLUS Expressway Bhd board member Tan Sri Ravindran Menon, will likely partner with listed UEM Land Holdings Bhd if it grabs the project, the business paper said.

The engineering firm states on its website that it has a special focus on transport infrastructure and utilities, among other things.

YTL Corp managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh had in 2006 proposed a Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail link (HSR) to the government, but the plan was reportedly shelved due to the high cost of the project.

The company had previously built the 57km express rail link connecting KL Sentral and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), and now owns half of the company that holds a 60-year concession on it.

The Johor government is likely to form a joint venture if it wins the HSR project that will cut through the southern state, The Edge quoted an industry executive as saying.

Syed Mokhtar already owns a few ports via MMC Corp Bhd, including the Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port, and was reportedly working on a takeover of national railway KTM.

MMC Corp is currently in a joint venture with Gamuda Bhd for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the largest rail project in the Klang Valley, due to be ready in 2017. The two companies are also working together on a 329km electrified double-tracking rail project connecting Perak and Perlis that is expected to be completed this year.

But it remains unclear which of Syed Mokhtar’s companies will fight for the HSR project, The Edge said.

On Tuesday, the HSR link was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, with the latter saying that it is targeted to be built by 2020.

The project, which Najib had said will be done through public-private partnership “with strong government participation”, will cut travel time between the two capital cities to 90 minutes.

A day later, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the over 400km-long rail link is expected to benefit areas along the route and around the railway stations.

Kong said an initial study has identified five towns where new railway stations will be built, namely Seremban in Negri Sembilan, Ayer Keroh in Malacca, and Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Johor, all in Johor.