PETALING JAYA, Jan 9 — The infrastructure works for the Malaysian portion of the KL-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) could be worth up to RM40 billion, an Affin Hwang Capital Research report said.

The research house said the Malaysian project delivery partner (PDP) for the HSR project would potentially earn a net profit of RM1.6 billion to RM1.82 billion (applying a corporate tax rate of 24 per cent) over the 2019 to 2026 construction period.

"This is RM200 million to RM228 million per year based on straight-line recognition basis,” it said.

This figure is based on the same fee structure of the PDP fee for the MRT1, MRT2 and LRT3, which is six per cent of the project cost.

The report stated that two major packages for the HSR project are expected to be awarded in 2018.

The PDP for the Malaysian portion of the HSR is expected to be appointed by end of first quarter this year.

"We believe the Gamuda-MRCB JV has a good chance of winning the bid for the PDP role, and HSS Engineers Bhd could win the detailed design contract for the HSR project.”