KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — A consortium comprising eight of China’s biggest companies are expected to submit a proposal to build the Malaysia-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR).

The consortium, led by China Railway Corp (CRC), will also include the likes of Import-Export Bank of China, China Communications Construction Co Ltd, and China Investment Corp, Chinese financial website Caixin reported yesterday.

The CRC-led consortium will put together a proposal that would be submitted by June 2018 for the construction of the HSR, which is due to be completed by 2026.

Citing unnamed sources, the report also said that China Railway is "confident” about its chances of landing the project.

Past news reports have stated that the Malaysia-Singapore HSR project could cost around RM60 billion to build.

One of the consortium members, CCCC, are already building the RM55 billion East Coast Railway Link in Malaysia.

The consortium reportedly plan to emphasise on the fact that they had successfully built a high speed rail in a tropical climate in Hainan, China, before.