The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded Aecom Singapore a $24.6 million contract to conduct an advanced engineering study for the Singapore stretch of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR). The contract was awarded last month, and Aecom will have two years to complete it.

Aecom will provide architectural, civil, electrical, mechanical and other design services required for the HSR's Jurong East terminus, tunnels, and the bridge across the Straits of Johor, the LTA said in a statement on Wednesday. The LTA said Aecom was selected 'through a highly-competitive tender process'.

"They bring extensive experience in HSR projects internationally, including in the planning and design of the Beijing South HSR Station in China, the High Speed 2 railway in the U.K., and the West Kowloon Terminus for the Express Rail Link in Hong Kong," the LTA noted.

The Los Angeles-headquartered firm, which says it employs 87,000 people in 150 countries, is also carrying out an engineering consultancy study for the Rapid Transit System (RTS) link between Singapore and Johor Bahru.

The RTS link, an extension of the Thomson-East Coast Line, was originally slated to be completed in 2018 but this has been pushed back to a date yet to be decided. There has been little progress reported on the 4km to 5km extension, with Singapore saying it was waiting for Johor to decide on the location of its terminal station.

The 350km Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR is slated to be completed by end 2026. It will allow travel between the two cities in 90 minutes, a fraction of the time taken by a car, and comparable to the time taken for air travel now. Aecom will work with various other specialists like Architects 61, Applied Wayfinding and CPG Consultants on the HSR project.