Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim signed an agreement on a special economic zone, and took a selfie, during the trip. Credit: @anwaribrahim via X/Twitter

The Prime Ministers of Singapore and Malaysia have celebrated the completion of a connecting span linking the marine viaduct between the two countries as part of the Johor Bahru to Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS). 

Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong visited the Straits of Johor with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim to view the 17.1m long connecting span between the island country’s Pier 48 and its neighbour’s Pier 47. 

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Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ibrahim said the link will benefit tens of thousands of commuters between the two countries, adding: “The completion of this RTS Link will certainly continue to strengthen Malaysia-Singapore friendly relations and continue to drive economic growth and prosperity for both countries.” 

While the completion of the 340-tonne span marks a significant moment for the RTS project, which is around 65% complete overall, there is still some time to go before passengers will be able to use the new line with services expected to begin in December 2026. 

The 4km long twin railway track was first announced in 2010 before the signing of a bilateral agreement in 2018 and is hoping to reduce traffic on existing links between the two countries with a capacity of 10,000 passenger per hour in each direction. 

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With the installation of the connecting span, work will continue on constructing the piers and viaduct segments on either side of the structure, with Singapore saying it has installed the 12 concrete pile caps that will support the 730 metre viaduct on its side. 

A step forward for the project will be welcome news for both governments following the reports that Japanese companies planning to bid for another rail link, the high-speed Kuala Lumpur-Singapore project, had decided to pull out over fears around a lack of government funding.