Hong Kong’s rail operator MTR Corporation intends to team up with state-owned China Railway Corp to bid for the High Speed Rail (HSR) project connecting Singapore with Kuala Lumpur, reported The South China Morning Post.
If it secures a work contract in the multibillion-dollar project spanning 350 kilometres, it would represent MTR Corp’s maiden investment under China’s global trade and commerce strategy, the “Belt and Road” plan.
“We want to expand into new markets under the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. But we are careful in considering factors such as financial viability of projects and risks,” said MTR Corporation Chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang.
He is among the 30 officials from Hong Kong who attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held at Beijing on 14-15 May. In total, the event was attended by around 1,200 delegates from over 100 countries and territories.
At the forum, he talked with Malaysia’s Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who revealed that the tender for the HSR will be called by end-2017. It is also expected to be fully operational by 2026.
According to Ma, MTR Corp and China Railway Corp inked a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in December 2016. This agreement paves the way for future business collaborations in over 60 countries under the “Belt and Road” plan’s two main trade corridors — the old Silk Road land route in the north and the maritime route in the south.
He also noted that there is strong demand for mass transit along the corridors as they pass through many populous markets. However, he emphasised the need to mitigate risks related to corruption, funding and politics.
“The financing issue can be resolved through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),” the Beijing-backed global bank established in 2015.
Aside from Hong Kong, MTR Corp has businesses in Beijing, Australia, London and Sweden, and these mostly involves managing rail lines.
In 2016, the company has also founded an academy to train engineers, not only for its home market, but for Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Macau.
Image sourced from The Online Citizen
Radin Ghazali, Content Writer at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email radin@propertyguru.com.my
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