Govt Financing Needed For Hsr Says Kj

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The HSR project was terminated after the Pakatan Harapan government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad came to power in 2018. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said some level of government financing is needed to get the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project off the ground given the significant costs involved.
Speaking in the latest episode of his Keluar Sekejap podcast, Khairy highlighted the challenges of relying solely on private sector funding for the ambitious infrastructure project.
“Whether you want it or not, there must be some involvement from the government in terms of financing,” said the former minister.
“If not directly through investments, it could be in the form of grants or loans to private consortiums building the HSR.
“At the very least, the federal government will likely need to step in for land acquisition, which is a major cost,” he said.
Khairy pointed out that previous HSR models had included federal government involvement in land acquisition, a significant expense that private consortiums would struggle to shoulder alone.
“If we want to rely on a fully private financing model for the HSR, I think it will be quite difficult,” he said.
“We don’t know for sure as there have been a few proposals for the HSR… But I doubt any of these proposals are 100% privately funded.
“I’m confident there must be some government involvement,” he added.
Last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the HSR project could be revived if there was full participation from the private sector, with minimal government involvement.
He said the government’s current position was to invite the participation of the private sector because the government had limitations.
Anwar said megaprojects had to be deferred for the next few years because of the government’s commitment towards prioritising issues such as poverty alleviation, flood mitigation, basic infrastructure, education and public health.
“We are still waiting for some promising and positive contributions or participation by the private sector to proceed when necessary… there have been proposals, and the task force is looking at it,” he said in a Bernama report.
Malaysia and Singapore formally agreed to develop the project in February 2013, when Najib Razak was the prime minister. The project was initially slated for completion within 13 years.
The HSR was originally intended to have key stations in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.
However, the project was terminated after the Pakatan Harapan government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad came to power in 2018, as it felt the RM10 billion bill was too costly.
Putrajaya had to compensate Singapore S$102.8 million for costs incurred, such as land acquisition. - FMT

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