Malaysia, Singapore jointly call tender for high speed rail assets firm

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- MyHSR Corporation, Malaysia's project delivery vehicle for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR), and its Singaporean counterpart, on Wednesday called for a joint tender for an Assets Company (AssetsCo), which could cost more than 10 billion U.S. dollars by some estimate.

The AssetsCo, viewed as the "crown jewel" of the KL-SG HSR project, will be responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining all rolling stock, as well as designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining all rail assets such as track-work, power, signalling and telecommunications for the project, MyHSR and SG HSR said in a joint press release.

The AssetsCo will also coordinate the system's network capacity for operations and maintenance needs, it added.

"We welcome all interested parties to submit their best proposal for the AssetsCo tender," said MyHSR Corp Chief Executive Officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal in the statement, adding "the KL-SG HSR project is a complex and extensive transport infrastructure project for both countries, which will generate huge socio-economic benefits arising from the increased connectivity and travel efficiency."

SG HSR Managing Director Rama Venkta said they have received enthusiastic responses from the market for the project so far.

According to the statement, the tender aims to identify an AssetsCo, which will provide a solution that prioritizes safety and security, availability and reliability, proven technology, operations flexibility, customer centric design, value for money, and collaborative project implementation with MyHSR Corp and SG HSR.

MyHSR Corp and SG HSR welcome the interest of all companies, whether they are based in Malaysia, Singapore or overseas, it added.

The call for tender came one year after the governments of Malaysia and Singapore signed a legally-binding pact on the project. The HSR project will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes once it runs into operation by the end of 2026. Companies from China, Japan and Europe have long expressed interests in this project.

In a separate tender notice released by MyHSR and SG HSR, a set of minimum criteria have been laid out. For instance, communications systems provider for the project must have designed, integrated and delivered systems with a period of operations more than two years and with an aggregated size of more than 100 km.

Rolling stock providers must have designed and delivered trainsets into commercial services with more than five years in service and delivered more than 10 trainsets.

Bidders will have until June 29, 2018 to submit proposals to MyHSR and SG HSR and a tender briefing will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 23, 2018. Through this open, fair and transparent procurement process, MyHSR and SG HSR target to jointly select a qualified bidder by the end of next year, it said.

Prior to the AssetsCo tender, other tenders related to the project, such as social impact assessment and joint development partner, have been called. Enditem