Anwar, PM Lee witness historic RTS link ‘connected’ between Malaysia and Singapore

JOHOR BAHRU, Jan 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday witness the historic moment of the Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) project being symbolically “connected” between Malaysia and Singapore.

It involves the completion of the span which is the meeting point of the project’s marine viaduct between Johor Bahru and Singapore.

This is the first time the two leaders meet on the project site, thus strengthening the commitment of both countries on the multi-billion ringgit project.

During the ceremony, Anwar and Lee also signed a plaque which symbolically shows the commitment of both countries to the construction of the project which had reached a progress level of 65% as of Dec 31, 2023, as scheduled.

Also present at Thursday’s ceremony are Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Singapore Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat as well as Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

The RTS Link project is a commuter train network about 4km long with two stations, one each at Bukit Chagar here and at Woodlands North, Singapore.

With a capacity of up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction and a journey time of about five minutes between the two stations, the RTS line, scheduled for completion in December 2026, will provide an easy and comfortable journey between Singapore and Johor Bahru.

The RTS project and the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone initiative currently under discussion are expected to open a new chapter in bilateral relations between the two countries.