Khaw hopes deal to suspend RTS link can be finalised soon

Both Malaysia and Singapore are still committed to ensuring that the railway project can continue.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan hopes the supplemental agreement to suspend the Rapid Transit System Link (RTS) between Woodlands and Johor Bahru can be finalised soon, reported The New Paper.

While the bilateral agreement for the RTS link project did not include any provision for a suspension, Khaw explained that a supplementary agreement could be worked out “in the spirit of bilateral cooperation”.

Search for private residential properties near the future RTS project in Woodlands

In fact, this was previously done for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, Khaw said during a joint press conference with his Malaysian counterpart Anthony Loke following a ceremony marking the inaugural landing of Malaysian carrier Firefly at Seletar Airport.

The two ministers had earlier revealed, after their meeting on 8 April, that Singapore and Malaysia were working on a supplemental agreement to suspend the 4km RTS link project for six months.

The two countries had already agreed to suspend the HSR project for two years, with Malaysia paying $15 million to Singapore for abortive costs.

Malaysia requested to suspend the RTS link in order to review key parameters.

“At this point in time, we are still committed to ensuring that the project can continue,” said Loke.

He had earlier shared that the suspension of the RTS involved “some cost” on the part of Malaysia. The RTS link was set to start operations by 31 December 2024.

Interested in buying property near the future RTS project in Woodlands? Check out our step-by-step guide to buying a condo.

 

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg