Ekip
October 27, 2015•Update: October 28, 2015
By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia will push for speedier construction of the ambitious $15 billion Singapore Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) which -- when finished -- will connect eight countries by rail.
Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said Tuesday that Malaysia, as the permanent chairman of the SKRL Special Working Group, will submit new proposals to the committee on ways to speed up the rail-link construction.
The 6617.5 kilometer-long (4112 mile-long) project was mooted in 1995 by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to connect Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and China by rail.
It was supposed to connect domestic rail networks to form a continuous link from Singapore to Kunming in China, easing travel between various Southeast Asian countries and China.
However, the project has been hindered by a lack of funds and other technical issues in connecting the rail to major towns across the region.
It remains uncompleted to-date due to missing rail link sections spanning 1,780 kilometres in several areas.
Speaking at Parliament on Tuesday, Kaprawi said the continuation of the missing link in Thailand and Cambodia would be completed in 2017, signalling major progress.
"The link between Klong Sip Kao Junction to Aranyaprathet to Klong Luk in Thailand was due for completion in February next year while the section from Poipet in Phnom Penh in Cambodia to be completed in 2017.
“However, the missing links from Myanmar to Thailand, Cambodia to Vietnam, Vietnam to China and Myanmar to China were still at the proposal stage while discussions were being held with third parties for sponsorships,” he said.
