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High-speed rail agreement to be signed on later date

This article is more than 12 months old

S'pore-M'sia rail pact postponed due to admin matters, which have been settled

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Singapore have postponed the signing of a bilateral agreement on the high-speed rail (HSR) project due to scheduling and other administrative matters, New Straits Times reported yesterday, citing a Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak were scheduled to meet in Johor Baru on Monday to witness the signing of the agreement during their annual retreat.

Mr Abdul Rahman Dahlan told the daily that Malaysia had suggested Dec 21 as the new date.

He said "all issues" pertaining to the scheduling and other administrative matters "have been ironed out".

"We had a meeting with Singapore Transport Minister Khaw (Boon Wan) on Tuesday. Both sides agreed to fine-tune some details," Mr Rahman was quoted as saying.

Responding to media queries on the report, a spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "We are in the process of finalising the key deliverables for the Malaysia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat. We are working to hold the Retreat soon."

Conceived in 2013, the 350km rail project is expected to begin construction in 2018 and start operating in 2026.

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