A man looks at the image of the architectural concept design for Bangi-Putrajaya Station of Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR) in Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 17, 2017. MyHSR Corporation on Tuesday unveiled the architectural concept designs for the seven stations of the KL-SG HSR in Malaysia here. The seven stations include Bandar Malaysia, Bangi-Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia has commenced the land acquisition process for Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR), and has approved the public inspection exercise which will start next month, said the country's Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday.
Najib said that MyHSR Corporation (MyHSR Corp), the Malaysian government's project delivery vehicle for the rail project, has submitted its applications to the relevant government authorities for land freezing purposes, an essential process to study the viability of the pre-selected areas.
"Then these selected areas are further defined to reflect public's feedback on the alignment," he said when delivering his speech during the launching of the HSR station designs in Malaysia.
Najib also said the Malaysian government has approved the Railway Scheme which paves the way for the public inspection exercise that will begin on Nov. 1 for a duration of three months.
"This exercise serves as a channel for the public to share their feedback, suggestions or raise any concerns regarding the project and the proposed alignment," he added.
According to MyHSR's commercial director Tonny Yeap, the actual land acquisition is expected to start at the middle of 2018.
"We will need to take into account of all the feedback that we receive from the public and do the assessment. Should there are no further changes, we will on track to have the land acquisition sometime in the middle of next year," he told reporters during the press conference.
Meanwhile, MyHSR's chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal said, as of today, up to 200 companies have shown their interests in participating in the rail project.
"These companies are from all over the world, including some Chinese parties," he said.
MyHSR on Tuesday unveiled the architectural concept designs for the seven stations of the KL-SG HSR in Malaysia. The seven stations include Bandar Malaysia, Bangi-Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri.
"The designs of each station were conceptualized to reflect not only the diverse heritage, culture and identity of each city along the HSR corridor, but also demonstrates the growth vision that will be accomplished with the KL-SG HSR," said Malaysian government chief secretary and MyHSR's chairman Ali Hamsa.
Malaysian and Singaporean governments signed a bilateral agreement in December last year to construct the high speed rail between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The construction is set to complete by 2026.
