Malaysia, Singapore to call first joint tender for high-speed rail project

Malaysia's MyHSR and Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Friday that they will be calling for a joint tender on Monday to appoint a Joint Development Partner (JDP) to assist in the planned Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project.

According to a press release from MyHSR and LTA, which are representative organizations from the two countries, the partner is expected to "provide project management support, technical advice and procurement advice relating to the high speed railway systems and operations."

"It will also develop the technical and safety standards to be adopted for the project," it added.

As the first tender since the Malaysian and Singaporean governments signed a memorandum of understanding last month, it will also see the JDP assist the joint project team with the preparation of documents for the forthcoming tenders, it said.

According to the press release, the tender is open to firms who have advised on large public private partnership infrastructure projects including HSR projects of similar size and complexity.

Firms with experience in providing project management, technical, commercial or legal advisory services relating to HSR or rail projects with more than 200 km of track are also eligible, it said.

The 350 km HSR is expected to handle trains commuting between the two capital cities with a speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour. It is expected to run into service in 2026. Endit