This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 15, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: South Korea’s high-speed rail (HSR) technology has a “slightly lower” operating cost compared with that of Japan’s Shinkansen technology, claimed the republic’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kang Hoin.

Kang said this after concluding his meeting with the Land Public Transport Commission chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar yesterday.

Kang remained upbeat about the country’s bid for the 350km Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project despite its shorter track record compared with competitors like the East Japan Railway Co from Japan, which developed the Shinkansen.

“After 11 years of operating the HSR, we have developed our own technology. I believe this set of technology is very suitable for developing countries like Malaysia. We do not have figures from China, but as compared with Japan, our operating cost is slightly lower,” he said.

“In this visit, I have explained everything to the Malaysian government, in terms of safety, technological transfer, ways of lowering maintenance and operational cost, and they have also indicated that they welcome Korea to participate in the race,” he added.

South Korea has formed a 27-firm consortium — comprising railway track builders, rolling stock manufacturers, financiers, consultancies and research institutes — led by the Korea Rail Network Authority (KRNA), to bid for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project.

Last month, KRNA inked a memorandum of understanding with local engineering consultancy firm Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd to jointly bid for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project. Nine other invitations have also been sent out to local companies seeking a similar collaboration.

“We are not here to maximise our profit. We would like to seek a win-win collaboration with Malaysia,” Kang said.

However, Kang declined to outline the potential business model or financial scheme that the South Korean consortium will be offering, saying it is still too early to do so as the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR has not even issued its request for proposal (RFP).

“Until the release of the RFP, we will come out with an optimum proposal, with reasonable construction cost that comes with a high quality of safety and efficiency,” he said.

Kang is scheduled to meet with Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal today.

MyHSR is solely owned by the Minister of Finance Inc and was set up to be the developer and asset owner of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR, on the Malaysian side.