Japan Company Could Be The One Building KL-SG High Speed Rail, Not China

I am sure you’ve heard about the High-Speed Rail (HSR) that will connect Singapore and Malaysia—you will be able to reach KL in 90 minutes, the duration of an English rom-com movie.

Image: Edelman via The Straits Times

The line will have a total of eight stations, with one being in Singapore (Jurong East) and the rest of the stations will be in Malaysia.

The project will come to fruition by 2026.

Now, the project is in its bidding stage and a Japanese company will make an all-out bid for the said project but there are other potential bidders for the project, including South Korea and France, Straits Times reported.

The company that gets awarded the contract will be responsible for building, designing, financing, operating and maintaining all of the rail assets.

I mean, Japan would be the ideal candidate since they are known for their bullet train system, the Shinkansen.

In any good pitch, one must be well equipped.

Image: giphy.com

& Japan came fully prepared.

Mr Makio Miyagawa in an interview with national news agency Bernama, said: “The bid will include a total transfer of technology and local vendor development to greatly benefit Malaysian and Singaporean companies, including small and medium enterprises.”

“We will be offering our best-suited technologies to Malaysians and Singaporeans as well as full-fledged training for the officials, operators and engineers of both countries so that they can start the operations by themselves from day one,” he added.

The project will cost around S$16.6 billion to S$19.9 billion, pretty expensive eh?

Image: Edelman via The Straits Times

Nah, don’t fret. Japan is here to solve the problem

“Japan would also like to offer the most comprehensive financial package which would certainly help the two nations to reduce as much of their financial burden as possible in introducing this system,” said Mr Miyagawa.

Last but not least, he mentioned that Japan’s edge over other bidders should be viewed the most important aspect in any public transport system, safety.

Additionally, he said: “The advantage of the Shinkansen is that it has operated for almost 50 years without any fatal accident or human capital problems. This is the merit of the system which is based upon the superiority of the hardware as well as the excellence of the software operations based upon the accumulated know-how of the engineers and operators in Japan.”

And that is all folks!

Image: tenor.com

Thoughts

The bid must be submitted by the middle of 2018, and the contract will be awarded by the end of the year.

It does seem like Japan is very eager and also earnest.

Mr Miyagawa also mentioned that Japan has assisted the recipient nations to stand on their own feet.

“It would not like to dominate the benefits but to share them. It would withdraw from the operation when you are ready to take over. If you would like us to stay on for some years, we would. It is not Japan’s way to win (a contract) and run away. That would be irresponsible,” he added.

Now, if Japan gets the contract, we all can learn a thing or two from them.

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Featured image: Edelman via The Straits Times