The bidding race for the rail project estimated to cost around $15 billion is likely to be keenly competitive. Almost 400 participants from 165 organizations, including rolling stock and system suppliers, engineering and legal consultants, as well as operators and construction companies, showed up at the briefing.
There were 21 entities from Asia, 67 from Europe, 17 from America, 25 from Singapore, 29 from Malaysia, and others.
Although Japan and China are jostling for the mega deal, Korea remains confident that it can win the HSR project expected to cut travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes.
“At first we felt that we were way behind China and Japan because of a lack of government support and weak financing capability,” said a Singapore-based official from a Korean construction company asking not to be named.
“But now we believe that we can give it a try as our key strength, an ability to transfer technology and grant its resale right, could give us a competitive edge,” he added.
According to the Korean government, unlike other countries, Korea is able to transfer most of its key technologies and knowhow because the public sector has secured them through a state-led R&D project. However, some participants in the consortium are voicing concerns that the nation’s bidding attempt may lose momentum unless President Moon Jae-in drums up his support for the deal.
“What is most worrisome is that President Moon and Cheong Wa Dae have yet to provide concrete support for the project,” said the KRNA executive.
“It was one of the key overseas projects under former President Park Geun-hye,” he added. “However, since she was ousted from office, Cheong Wa Dae has not seemed to have great interest in it.”
The project is considered particularly important for Korea because it can pave the way for the country to lay the groundwork in the burgeoning Southeast Asian infrastructure market.
