Malaysia and Singapore are committed to concluding the agreement on the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project by April.

This was disclosed by Transport Minister Anthony Loke (photo) on his official Facebook page today.

Loke was in Singapore visiting his counterpart Khaw Boon Wan.

“Paid a visit to Singapore's Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan and discussed the progress on the RTS project between JB and Woodlands. It was a fruitful discussion and both of us are committed to concluding the agreement by April this year,” he wrote.

On Nov 5, Loke said Malaysia needed a six-month extension to review the implementation aspects and several agreements regarding the RTS Link project.

He also asserted the extension period was needed following Malaysia’s decision to continue with the project.

Earlier on Oct 31, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that Malaysia has agreed to continue with the RTS route with a new cost of RM3.16 billion.

The latest cost resulted in a savings of 36 percent or RM1.77 billion compared with the original cost of RM4.93 billion.

“Happy to exchange mandarin oranges with Minister Anthony Loke. We wished each other Happy Chinese New Year and further progress in bilateral transport cooperation. There is so much we can do together for our peoples,” posted Khaw on his Facebook page.

- Bernama