KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia and Singapore are likely to sign an official bilateral agreement on the much anticipated high speed rail project linking the two countries in December, local media reported Monday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong are expected to witness the signing of the legally binding agreement during their annual talks early next month, the New Straits Times reported.
The signing of the agreement would pave the way for construction to start in 2018, the report said. Malaysia and Singapore had said they were targeting operations by 2026.
The two countries inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in July for further negotiations on the details of the project, which would cut the traveling time between the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and the city state to 90 minutes.
The MoU captures key points of agreement between the two countries on the project such as the details on technical parameter, commercial model as well as custom, immigration, quarantine (CIQ) clearance, safety and security matters, regulatory framework and project management.
Railway companies from China, Japan and Europe have long expressed interests in this major infrastructure project.
