KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): The consortium of Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) and Gamuda Bhd has accepted a letter of appointment (LoA) from MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, commissioning the consortium as project delivery partner (PDP) for the northern section of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-Singapore HSR) project.

The northern section stretches from the Bandar Malaysia station to the contract boundary being the first standard viaduct pier on the south side of the Melaka station.

The MRCB Gamuda Sdn Bhd Consortium is a 50:50 joint venture between MRCB and Gamuda.

Under the terms of the LoA, the consortium is to submit a commitment bond amounting to RM5 million and corporate guarantees issued by both MRCB and Gamuda to MyHSR Corp within 14 days.

In separate filings with Bursa Malaysia today, both MRCB and Gamuda said the project will not have any significant effect on their earnings and net assets for their respective current financial years, although they expect it to contribute positively to their future earnings.

Gamuda said it plans to finance its portion of investment in the PDP company, through internal funds and/or borrowings.

On April 5, MyHSR Corp had announced that the MRCB Gamuda Consortium had been selected for the northern portion of the KL-Singapore HSR project alignment, while another consortium by the name of Syarikat Pembenaan Yeoh Tiong Lay Sdn Bhd-TH Properties Sdn Bhd (YTL-THP) had been selected for the southern part.

The PDPs will be responsible for the designing and delivery of KL-Singapore HSR's civil works at an agreed cost and schedule. 

The PDPs will carry out all necessary activities throughout the planning, construction, testing and commissioning phases of the high speed rail project, among other responsibilities.

The PDP tender that was called for on Nov 22, 2017 by MyHSR Corp was an open tender.

Eight stations are currently planned for the KL-Singapore HSR project, namely: Bandar Malaysia, Sepang-Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri stations in Malaysia, and the Jurong East station in Singapore. Operations of the KL-Singapore HSR service is targeted for commencement by Dec 31, 2026.

The high speed rail project will cut travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes, compared with more than four hours by car.

MRCB shares closed down 2 sen or 1.94% at RM1.01 today, with 2.35 million shares done, bringing a market capitalisation of RM4.44 billion. Gamuda shares, meanwhile, ended the day 3 sen or 0.58% lower at RM5.11, with 4.2 million shares traded, valuing it at RM12.63 billion.