Singapore: MRT link to Malaysia still under study

SINGAPORE - Above water or under it? As speculation continues over whether the proposed MRT extension to Tanjung Puteri will see commuters travelling under the Straits of Johor, Foreign Minister George Yeo reiterated in Parliament yesterday that no decision has been made in that regard.

Responding to a question by Jurong GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Halimah Yacob, Mr Yeo said that both sides will have to carry out engineering studies and cost analysis before such details are finalised.

The link is expected to be built by 2018.

Mr Yeo described the recent land swap agreement between Singapore and Malaysia as a milestone in bilateral relations, which "are now on a different plane",

The agreement has enabled the Republic to "look at the future and prospects for future cooperation in a globalised world, in a much more positive and constructive way", said Mr Yeo.

The Foreign Minister added that Singapore companies' investment in Malaysia's Iskandar project totalled RM2.64 billion ($1.1 billion) between May 2006 and May last year.

On the unresolved issue on whether Malaysia should pay development charges on three parcels of land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands, Mr Yeo said both countries were still assembling their legal teams.

The matter will be referred for international arbitration.

The three parcels were set aside for joint development in the 1990 Points of Agreement on railway land and Singapore believes development charges should be paid, while Malaysia does not. - Today