KUALA LUMPUR (May 9): MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian project delivery vehicle of the Kuala Lumpur — Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR) project, is calling for a tender to appoint a commercial advisory consultant (CAC) for the project review exercise today.

In a statement today, MyHSR Corp said the appointed consultant will be required to develop a new business model that will produce the optimal project life-cycle cost, as well as develop updated ridership forecasts, and update the benefits assessment that the project will bring to Malaysia.

MyHSR Corp chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal said this is the second tender in relation to the KL-SG HSR project review exercise. It had previously called a tender to appoint the technical advisory consultant (TAC) in April 2019 to assist on technical matters.

He noted that the TAC tender, which has received encouraging interest and support from the market, is still ongoing and is expected to be completed by Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

"The CAC tender that MyHSR Corp is launching now, looks to address the commercial aspects of the project. With the appointments of both the TAC and the CAC, a comprehensive project review exercise will be completed, and a report will then be prepared and submitted to the government, prior to the end of the suspension period in May 2020.

"We encourage all firms with the relevant experience to participate in this tender as the findings of this review will help us chart the right course for this project," Ismal added.

To recap, the governments of Malaysia and Singapore had agreed to suspend the construction of the KL-SG HSR project from Sept 5, 2018, until May 31, 2020.

Following the suspension, MyHSR said it has been working with the Malaysian government to review the project in order to identify cost reduction options, such as reviewing and optimising the alignment, station locations, and business model.