“We are not currently planning for a third bridge.

“I have seen some statements in Malaysia suggesting one, but the High-Speed Rail (HSR) is a very ambitious project,” said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in an interview with Bernama today.

Lee was asked whether with the HSR, a third bridge was still necessary or even viable.

Business groups, urging for a third land link to Singapore, said it was “no longer an option”, citing traffic congestion along the Johor Causeway and Second Link.

Talk about a third bridge has been rife for some time among the corporate community, hoping that both governments will sit down and ­seriously discuss the matter.

They said the present two links were no longer able to cope.

In fact, it was proposed that the third bridge should be built from the Kong Kong area in Pasir Gudang to Sembawang in Singapore.

They said it made more economic sense for the link to be built in this area because it would spur trade between the two countries

Malaysia and Singapore have signed an agreement to build a high-speed rail link that will knit the two neighbouring countries more closely together.

The 350km HSR project will see travel time between the two countries reduced to 90 minutes as the trains will run at a top speed of more than 300kph

For Singapore, the HSR terminus would be located in Jurong East while Malaysia would have seven stations, namely in Bandar Malaysia, Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri.

If all goes well, the first trains would start running in 2026, just 10 years from now.

“I would focus all my energy doing that one (HSR) before we launch a new big project,” said Lee.

Lee and Prime Minister Najib Razak witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the HSR on July 19.